Remembrance
by Itachilova101
Summary: When memories Sakura never knew existed begin to break through the surface of her subconscious memory, Tsunade decides to send her on a very unfitting mission in search of answers. What will happen? Will she ever remember? ItaSaku SEQUEL NOW OUT!
1. I Dream A Dream

A/N: Well, new story. One I finished a long time ago, but my computer had died and so I had no way of uploading it. Now, my computer is back to its former glory and I can now upload this story and I'll start putting up the sequel (one I have yet to finish) once I'm sure that it'll work.

I will be continuing Savior, but I so seriously wanted to post this up. I hope you enjoy and please review!

_

* * *

Tsunade's Medical Journal, Entry 83:_

_As both her mentor and as a fellow medical shinobi, I have done an intense investigation on one Haruno Sakura, a sixteen year old chuunin. It has been apparent over the past years that I have been around her that she seems to suffer from lapses of memory, or to have memories of things that never took place. _

_To be quite frank, I had first thought that she suffered from some case of dementia, or perhaps Schizophrenia, where her grip on reality was somehow slackened, but that hypothesis was soon declared false once I began to ask around the village, consult our medical records, and the mission reports from nine years ago. The following is what I have found:_

_Haruno Sakura suffers unknowingly from a very rare, very mysterious, case of amnesia. Unlike the usual cases, where somebody gets a bump on the head or the always tragic effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the lack of_—_and/or altered memories were caused by a jutsu, a jutsu performed by a missing-nin on a very tragic night for so many people._

_She has no idea of this because, to her, it was as if the span of time she'd forgotten never took place. Of course, from what I have been told, there was a reason she was put under a jutsu and an even greater reason why the truth was kept from her, but, unfortunately, these justifications remain to be seen._

_That night, she lost so much and so little; so much in reality and so little in her mind._

_I had hoped to, one day, develop a jutsu that can release the bindings on her brain to return her memories to her, but it seems that it cannot be done without causing some sort of trauma. However, I do believe I've found a way around this, to release the jutsu's hold on her without the use of a jutsu._

_It will most assuredly be painful to her and the others who have been affected, but I am remaining hopeful that it will work._

—_End Journal_—

"_Close your eyes," a whisper of a male voice commanded from behind, his breath tickling her ear and making her giggle._

"_But why?" asked the young girl of around six or seven as the man behind her took her shoulders and began to move her._

"_It's a surprise," he answered, the softest of chuckles escaping his lips that were placed against her ear. So, doing as she was told, she scrunched her eyes closed tight and allowed the man to steer her in the direction of her special surprise._ "_No peaking," his soft, caring, loving voice warned, allowing another chuckle to tickle her ear._

How did he know?_ she wondered with a sheepish chuckle._

"_Alright, you can open your eyes now," whispered the voice from behind, releasing his hold on her shoulders, his mouth now leaving her ear._

_She opened her eyes to find herself in the most beautiful meadow she had ever seen in her life. Filled with lovely flowers accenting the perfectly green grass, sakura trees in full bloom and, in the middle, a white and red checkered blanket with a picnic basket set on top, it was like a picture from a dream. It was far too perfect to be real._

_He'd planned all this for her? _

"_I love you, Sakura."_

* * *

Sakura shot awake and looked around frantically, her breathing erratic, cool sweat leaving her chilled to the bone. When she found that she was still in her bedroom, she sighed in exhaustion, falling back onto her pillow.

And the dream returns... She'd had the same dream night after night after night for the past few weeks and its effects on her were beginning to grow extremely irritating.

The man's voice was so familiar and, even worse, she was never even able to catch a glimpse of his face! This latter issue in particular was aggravating to no end.

She closed her eyes, but didn't sleep. She was never able to drift back to sleep after having this dream, her mind endlessly buzzing with question upon question about it.

With a tired sigh, she curled into a ball in the bed and waited for the sun to rise.

* * *

Walking into the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of orange juice, Sakura yawned as she fell into a chair at the table.

Another nearly sleepless night... she could barely eat anymore, the thought of the man from her drams made her feel so sick. She'd usually only get one or two hours' sleep nowadays because she just couldn't get the man out of her head. Who was he? No, who was he to _her_? Why did he seem so familiar? Well, his voice, anyway...

A knock at her door surprised her, practically making her spill her juice, and she managed to mumble a "Come in."

Sasuke walked through the door and sat at the opposite end of the table from her, eying her with scrutiny. "Still having those dreams?" he asked, probably after noticing the bluish-purplish semi-circles under her eyes.

She nodded in the affirmative, taking another sip of her juice and wincing at the taste it left in her mouth. Why was it that, whenever she had bitter thoughts, everything she tasted was bitter?

"Still having those dreams?" he queried, pulling her out of her angered reverie.

"It's so stupid!" she exclaimed, grabbing fistfuls of her unwashed, unkempt pink hair and tugging on the strands. "It's as if this guy was somebody that was really important to me, but I just forgot who he was overnight and, even though I know it's impossible, the very thought of it is driving me mad! Have you ever felt this way?"

He shook his head in the negative, now eying her with obvious pity in his eyes.

She must have looked a sight, what with her hair not having been washed in days, wearing the same wrinkled outfit she'd passed out in the night before, her eyes bloodshot and swollen from insomnia.

"In my dream last night, he told me he loved me," she confessed quietly, staring at the glass of orange juice in front of her, then looking up to her visitor to see his reaction.

His look turning from one of worry to one of anger, it was Sasuke's turn to drop his head, clenching his hands into fists on the table. "He told you that?"

She nodded. "You look so angry, Sasuke-kun. Why, I mean, this all probably never happened, right? We don't have any way of knowing, anyway, dreams can be very misleading, you know."

Sasuke's disposition changed very little.

"Sasuke-kun, what's the—?"

He stood abruptly, the chair shrieking against the linoleum-tiled floor as it was pushed backward, and said, "I'm leaving. I'll talk to you later, Sakura."

"What? But—!" Sakura didn't have a chance to finish her objection, the man leaving without another word, and she was left feeling shocked and hurt by the sharpness of his voice.

What had gotten into him?

She stood, shaking her head, dismissing Sasuke, her dream, her dream-guy, dismissing everything.

What she needed to do was speak to a doctor about his. A doctor would be able to tell her what was wrong with her and how to fix it. The only thing was... well, she didn't want to go on her own. Who would go with her, though? Sasuke surely wouldn't, seeing as how he didn't seem to like the idea of her dreams. Kakashi couldn't, he was on a mission in Suna until the day after next. So, maybe Naruto?

Yes, Naruto would not only be willing to go, but he had been just as worried about this as she was. And, so, she picked up the phone to dial Naruto's number.

* * *

"So," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair to eye the duo before her impassively, "What brings the two of you here on such short notice?"

"Well, Shishou, y-you see," Sakura began nervously, wringing her hands in her lap, "I've been having these recurring dreams of this one time, about a man, but I can't see who he is. I can't sleep anymore; I can barely eat anything because the thought of him makes me sick with irritation. It seems like the dream's controlling my life and I just wanted to come in and see if you could tell me what's going on. If you could, you know, help me out with this."

The only change in the blond Hokage's face was a glint that passed over her eyes for the span of only a moment. "Are you able to tell who the man in these dreams are? You know, by the sound of his voice?"

She shook her head. "I haven't a clue."

"Are these flashbacks you're having or are they only things from your imagination? Do you have any idea whatsoever about what's going on in them?"

"I-I don't know," she admitted truthfully, "If they are flashbacks, I don't know when they could have taken place because I don't remember any of it. Like I told Sasuke this morning, it's as if it was a very important time, but I just forgot it overnight.

Tsunade turned to Naruto who nodded to some silent message passed between the two of them, and then turned back to Sakura to ask, "And what about this man in your dreams, is there anyway you can tell if he's a villager or not?"

"I think he was, but I don't know," she said, "How is any of this important?"

"Alright," the Hokage nodded, ignoring her student's earlier question, "I don't think you have a lot to worry about. It looks to me like you're having some insomnia troubles that are causing your eating habits to behave differently. I'll prescribe you a drug that you can take. It's a sleeping pill that should help you."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you, Shishou."

The blond wrote out a prescription and handed it to the troubled girl and then Naruto and Sakura left with high spirits, hoping to have found a cure for her ailment.

Tsunade sighed sadly when the two had left. She feared that the problem that ailed Sakura could not be healed with medication. It was something that would take a much more strict and riskier treatment. One that could result in the loss of her young life.

* * *

A/N: Well, first chapter, done. I think there are fifteen chapters for this story. Let me check... oop, no, make that sixteen chapters. And they're all finished, so it'll be quick updates. Though I always update quickly. XD

Once again, please review or else I won't want to continue the story! Lots of love!


	2. A Suspicious Mission

A/N: Huzzah! Chapter two! *happy dance* Thank you for the nice reviews and enjoy the next chapter! I think the chapters are quite a deal longer than I usually make them. You should all be proud of me, because my old stories had chapters that were almost half the length of these ones. XD

* * *

  
Sasuke thought he knew what was going on with Sakura, a lot of people did. Their assumptions, though very plausible, weren't quite true. Who was the one to perform the jutsu? Well, one thing was certain, the people of Konoha thought that the man in her dreams was the one to do it. Who was the man in her dreams? Well, to Sakura, that was one of life's many unanswered questions.

The truth was, the man in her dreams and the man that performed the jutsu were not the same person. But, they were both part of a plan. One that included the Uchiha Massacre and Haruno Sakura. However, there was still another. Who was it? Well, a man that had been interested in the Uchiha bloodline for a very long time._

* * *

  
"Do you love Sasuke?" asked that all-too-familiar voice._

"_I-I... I don't know," answered a young girl beside the man._

"_Do you love him or do you like me?"_

"_Of course I like you, Silly!"_

"_In the same way that you like Sasuke?"_

"_Um... Sasuke-kun is nice, but I like you more!" the girl exclaimed, "Why else would I hang out with you instead of him?"_

_The man chuckled. "I love you, too... my Sakura."_

_And then the scene changed to an abandoned district. Well, mostly abandoned, what with all the dead bodies that were scattered haphazardly along the streets, their forms more like silhouettes against the setting sun. _

_The little girl gasped in horror, tears welling in her eyes, distorting her vision and burning her eyes. What happened? What was going on? Where was her friend? Was he okay? She hoped beyond all hope that he wasn't one of these people on the ground. __She ran, looking for her friend. Where was he? Where could he have gone?!_

"_Sakura!" she heard him shout from some unknown corner, "Sakura! Run! Get out of her before he—!"_

"_Too late." The two words seemed to make time stop as a man appeared before her, standing almost three times taller than the small girl. His long black hair framing his silhouetted form, she couldn't see the man's face, but she could see the green snake-like eyes smirking at her._

"_D-Did you do this?" she asked. Then, her voice gaining some strength, she accused, "You killed them, didn't you?"_

_An amused chuckle erupting from the figure, the man brought his hands together to form several hand signs as her vision began to recede._

"_Sakura!" cried her friend, shooting out of a dark alleyway, his arms wrapping around her to break her fall, the evil man's chuckle slicing through the growing darkness. "Oh, God, Sakura... I'm so sorry. I love you," her friend whispered over her lips, a drop of water so hot it scalded her cold skin falling onto her cheeks. "I love you, my Sakura."_

_And, with the man's voice echoing in her eyes, the darkness overcame her and she knew no more._

* * *

  
Sakura shot awake the same way she did every night: panting; crying; shivering; her mind racing a mile a minute.

Never had she had that particular dream before. Had that been the Uchiha massacre? Who was the man that had done that jutsu? What _was_ that jutsu, anyway? Who had she been looking for? Was he a friend or an enemy? Why did he ask if she loved him? Why did it matter so much? Why did she have this connection him?

It was true, she was beginning to feel such a close connection to the man that haunted her dreams every night. She felt like she knew everything about him except his name and face and she was beginning to wonder if he was supposed to have been a boyfriend or something... well, of course, he must have been. Why else would he have told her he loved her?

Looking to the clock on her bedside table to see that it was three-thirty in the morning, she realized with frustration that she'd only been asleep an hour. The medication wasn't working.

* * *

  
"Sakura-chaaaaan! Hellooooo! Are yooooou paaaaaying attention to meeeee?"

"Hm?" Snapping out of her sleep-fogged daze, Sakura turned to face the speaker, smiling sheepishly. "Oh, sorry, Naruto, I wasn't paying attention, what were you saying?"

"Baa-chan has a mission for us," the blond repeated, "She wants to see us pronto."

"Oh, okay..." She allowed Naruto to take her arm to keep her from keeling over and they both headed toward Hokage Tower, Sakura barely able to keep her eyes open Naruto acting like his usual Naruto self. He chattered a mile-a-minute about how long it had been since the two of them had been on a mission together and Sakura only half-listened, her eyes dazing over once again. When they got into the office and sat down, Sakura finally put herself in check and asked on a yawn, "You called for us, Shishou?"

"God, Sakura, you're a mess!" the blond Hokage exclaimed, eyes wide with horror, "Did you just get mauled by a dog or something?"

"No," she answered on another yawn, "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Well then, take some uppers or something, because I have an A-ranked mission for you."

"Oh?" Sakura asked, perking up slightly.

"Then, what is it?" Naruto asked impatiently, somehow changing his mind on taking a mission with her, "And can't somebody else do it? Sakura-chan's in no condition to be on a mission right now. Can't you see that?"

"Sakura's part in this mission is vital," corrected Tsunade, "You two are going to infiltrate the Akatsuki headquarters and do some high-level reconnaissance."

"Hm," mumbled Sakura, a tired, goofy-looking smile on her face, "Just the thing to distract me from my dreams. I unconditionally accept."

"Wait, wait, wait," Naruto cut in, his brow furrowed in worry, "Is that wise, Baa-chan? I mean, with Sakura-chan right there in front of _him_? Isn't that, you know, sort of risky?"

"Why?" asked Sakura, suddenly feeling very confused, "What about me? In front of who?"

Ignoring her, Naruto persisted, "You might not know about everything that's gone on, but I do. It isn't safe to have her near that man, of all people. You can send somebody else off to do it, but Sakura-chan stays here."

"I can take care of myself," stated Sakura, her own brow furrowed.

"I know exactly what happened, Naruto," Tsunade said, her hands making a steeple over her desk, "And I am certain that I want Sakura to take part in this mission. I have my reasons, so you'll just have to trust my judgment."

"But—!"

"You two leave in a week," she concluded firmly, finally looking to Sakura, proving that she knew the younger kunoichi was in the room. "Bring whatever you feel necessary, but remember that you're going to be a missing-nin, so you'll have to look the part. Oh, and you might want to change the way you look for this mission. Some hair dye, eye contacts... it'll definitely help."

"Baa-chan!" Naruto exclaimed with exasperation, "You're not listening! You and I both know what will happen if she sees him! I thought Jii-san said that we weren't to let... her..." Then, the younger blond looked to Sakura and blushed at the angry and confused-looking girl. "Oh, uh, sorry, Sakura-chan, I kinda forgot you were there," he said sheepishly.

"Sakura, would you mind if you left and came back tomorrow for your mission briefing?" Tsunade inquired, her tone giving no room for debate as she glared daggers at poor Naruto, "I'd like to speak to Naruto for a moment... _alone_."

Nodding, Sakura stood from her chair and left, but not before giving Naruto a good whap on the head first. After shutting the door behind herself, she placed an ear against the door to listen in on what the two were saying. Though the voices were muffled and the words barely understandable, she managed to make out what the two were saying.

"She'll remember everything," Naruto hissed angrily, "She'll be destroyed if she remembers what really happened and you know that! You may not care about what happens to her, but I do and I don't think I could bear to see Sakura-chan after she's realized just what that bastard did to her."

"I know."

"Then—"

"I know what I'm doing, Naruto, I have a sneaking suspicion that I want to check out. I don't expect you to understand right now, but you will soon enough. You're dismissed." There was no room for argument in the Hokage's voice and Sakura knew that there was nothing else to listen to anymore.

She ran off before Naruto left the office and headed back to her house to contemplate all of this. She would show Naruto that she was strong enough to do this mission, even though she had no idea what he'd meant when he said that she'd "remember everything". What was it that she was forgetting?

She sighed and immediately began to pack. She'd have to be ready to leave when Tsunade wanted her to and it looked like this would be a long mission. It was best that she start packing right away so that she could be certain that she had all that she needed.

Then, just as she was about to pack her toothbrush, that oh-so-familiar voice from her dream popped into her head, whispering in her ear, _"I love you, my Sakura, I love you..." _He loved her, huh? Well, if he loved her so damned much, why wasn't he here with her and why didn't she remember him?

She just so desperately wanted to know who this man was and why she felt so connected to him; it was so aggravating not knowing!

Sighing once again, she shoved her toothbrush into her pack and decided it would be best to stop thinking about these dreams to help save herself some stress. That she could be mentally and emotionally prepared for her mission, something that thinking about these things would not help her with. Then, a funny thought came to mind. Wouldn't it be funny if she was lucky enough to find her dream-man in the Akatsuki?

_Yeah, that's a good one, _she thought with a chuckle.

* * *

A/N: *Snicker* Yeah, it's a good one, alright.


	3. No Pressure

A/N: Chapter three... I dunno what to say n.n; Thanks for the lovely reviews and enjoy the chapter! XD I know this ones a bit shorter, but I did what I could to make it a bit longer.

* * *

This was not a good idea. Naruto had no idea why Tsunade would want to send Sakura, of all people, on this mission to Akatsuki. Did she not care whatsoever about how poor Sakura was going to feel if (and when) she remembered her relationship with Uchiha Itachi?

If only he could warn her before the mission began, but that wasn't possible. There had been a decree created by the Third (not unlike that of the decree warning people not to speak of the Kyuubi inside Naruto) nine years earlier, forbidding anybody to speak of such matters to Sakura.

This just wasn't fair!

* * *

"_Sakura?"_

"_Mmf?" Sakura asked, her mouth full with half-chewed dumpling._

"_Have you ever been kissed before?"_

"_Well, sure," she answered, shuffling her bum around in the man's lap, "Momma and Daddy give me kisses all the time."_

_The arms around her tightened ever-so-slightly as she took another bite of her dango and the man brought his mouth down to her ear in that way that always made her giggle as he whispered, "Have you ever been kissed by somebody outside your family? By a boy?"_

_Sakura could feel the heat rush to her cheeks as she swallowed this bite and answered softly, "N-No."_

_There was a long, very embarrassing silence on Sakura's part until she heard him chuckle in her ear, the sensation sending a shiver of worry and excitement down her spine. "Would you like to be?"_

_Now Sakura was way beyond embarrassed. Her first kiss? Already? With this boy? Well, then again, she'd always imagined it in her dreams from the first day she met him. So, she nodded her assent. "O-Okay."_

_He carefully and effortlessly lifted her from his lap and placed her on the picnic blanket. "Now, close your eyes," he whispered in her ear, making her shudder from both the sensation and the anticipation._

_She did as told and closed her eyes as tight as she could. Then, she felt the man behind her stand from his spot and walk around until he was in front of her, and then sit back down. His rough, calloused hand brushed her cheek, but to her, it felt as soft and smooth as silk._

"_Sakura," he whispered over her lips, his warm breath smelling of sweet dumpling, "I love you." _

_Then, their lips touched in what was supposed to be a chaste kiss and Sakura felt an explosion of heat course through her veins, making her deepen the kiss._

_She whimpered softly as he lightly nipped her lower lip and allowed the tip of her tongue to meet his before his tongue invaded her mouth._

_She loved him... Oh, she loved him more than anything. And, better yet, he loved her right back._

* * *

Sakura awoke to find she wasn't as shell-shocked as she would have usually bene. Instead, she felt an unexpected, unexplainable sense of calm. For the first time in a really long time, she was awake and her mind was totally blank.

She smiled, taking advantage of this rare rush of relaxation and allowed herself to drift back to sleep.

* * *

Unfortunately, to say that the feeling lasted would be a lie.

"You want us to... what?"

"It's quite simple, really," Tsunade said, making another steeple with her fingers and propping her elbows on her desk. "You're going to 'kidnap' Naruto, claiming to turn him into the Akatsuki, then he's going to 'escape' and you'll carry on to the Akatsuki on your own."

"Naruto's point in this being...?" Sakura asked, clasping her hands in her lap to keep the others from seeing just how badly they were shaking. She had been exhausted and out of it when she'd unconditionally agreed to this mission, but she'd had a good sleep the night before and she was now in the right state of mind to realizejust how dangerous this mission was, how scared she should have been the day before.

"Well, we'll alert all the other Great Nations while you two are getting away," the Hokage explained, "And, since there are Akatsuki spies all over the place, in almost all of the Hidden Villages, they'll most definitely alert the Akatsuki. They'll be on full alert looking for you and you'll be on full alert looking for them. It's that simple."

Looking to Naruto for his thoughts, Sakura saw the blond glaring at Tsunade, riddling her with imaginary hate-bullets. It made her wonder what he was more angry about, being a minor part of this mission, or leaving her alone with an organization full of terrorists. "So, then, why do I need a disguise?"

"Part of the act," Tsunade answered, "It'd be more believable if you were in disguise seeing as how you're going to be hiding from shinobi, who can see through ninjutsu."

Biting her lower lip, Sakura nodded her agreement. "I still accept, Shishou. I'll leave whenever you want me to leave."

"Great," Tsunade smiled, "You and Naruto will head for Ame, then Naruto will leave and you will wait there for the Akatsuki."

The pink-haired chuunin could have sworn she heard Naruto curse under his breath, "Shit." He stood asking, "Was that a dismissal or is there more? Perhaps you'd like to emotionally crush Hinata-chan next by pinning her against Neji while her father watches? Or maybe you could invite Sasuke to go through the Big Brother-Big Sister program?"

Tsunade looked just about ready to explode, but, much to Sakura's shock, she turned to the kunoichi as though Naruto hadn't spoken a word. "Oh, and Sakura? No pressure or anything, but if the mission fails, you won't be able to return to Konoha... ever again.

"There it is!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the Hokage, "The final straw that'll break Sakura-chan's back! Not only are you torturing her with her memories now, when they're coming through the surface—!"

"What?" Sakura asked, stunned.

"Naruto," Tsunade warned.

"But when she fails the mission, you won't even let her come home!" he shouted furiously, "What kind of compassionless bitch are you?!"

"Who says I'm going to fail?" Sakura asked, tears stinging the backs of her eyes.

"Naruto, shut your bloody mouth," Tsunade spat impatiently, "Or I'll send you back to the Academy quicker than you can say 'Believe it'!"

"Do you honestly think she'll be able to stand up against him once she remembers how much she loved him?" the blond carried on, not bothering to listen to the others around him, "No! She's going to go all ga-ga over him just like she did with Sasuke and then he's going to break her heart... again! Then, he'll probably kill her along with that, because he's a bastard and you don't even care!"

Finally, Naruto fell back into his chair, his face flushed, breathing heavily.

"Are you quite finished?" Tsunade asked, obviously using all that she had to keep her voice even.

"Not even close," Naruto panted, "I just ran out of breath. As soon as I'm breathing properly, I'm going to tell you off some more."

Tsunade nodded. "Then it's settled."

"What is?" the two chuunin asked in unison.

"Naruto, as soon as you return from being kidnapped, you're going to be officially arrested and put in the Konoha penitentiary for breaking the decree the Third created nine years ago," the Hokage decided, "Sakura, no matter what Naruto tells you during the mission, you do not listen to a word, you hear me?

Sakura's mouth went fully dry. No pressure, huh?

* * *

A/N: No pressure n.n Okay, a lot of pressure, but still... X3

And I've also noticed that a lot of people are faving and putting this story on alerts, but barely anybody's reviewing... T.T PLEASE REVIEW! ... Reviews keep me alive! Ooh, now you HAVE to review or else risk me dieing and not continuing the story!

But, really, please review.


	4. Saying Goodbye

A/N: Well, chapter four! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

As the day of the mission drew closer, Sakura could feel the tension surrounding herself and her friends become less and less bearable. Well, of course, it was all in her mind (seeing as how nobody but herself, Naruto and Tsunade knew about the mission), but the fact did nothing to ease her fear.

Naruto's outburst had stirred something inside her and she still wasn't quite sure what that something was. All she knew was that everybody was keeping some vital secret from her and that she needed to somehow find out what it was.

Finally, the day of the mission came and Sakura was called to Tsunade's office for one last overview of the mission.

"I've changed my mind," Tsunade stated, "I suppose that it wouldn't quite work to have Naruto put in prison as soon as he came back, so I'm just going to have him suspended."

"Why the change of mind?" Sakura inquired, quirking her brow in confusion.

"You see," the blond replied, "We also need Konoha to believe you're a missing-nin, as well. You know, for thoroughness' sake, so it just wouldn't be believable to arrest a man that had just rescued himself from a missing-nin... if there were no real crimes committed, at least."

The now-brunette kunoichi sighed and nodded. "I understand, Shishou."

"Naruto's currently rounding up a few shinobi to follow after you to make it look all the more legitimate," Tsunade said, "So, as soon as they arrive, the mission will begin."

Closing her eyes, Sakura imagined all the hurt and betrayed faces that would soon litter the village after she left. How was she ever going to convince everybody of her innocence once she returned? If she returned, that is.

"Okay, Baa-chan," Naruto dragged himself into the room, three others following behind, "I did as you asked, and I'll follow my orders to a tee... but can you _please_ choose a different person other than Sakura-chan for the mission?"

"Sorry, Naruto, but I can't do that," Tsunade answered, "Like I told you earlier, Sakura is vital."

Grumbling, Naruto fell into the only vacant seat and started to, once again, riddle Tsunade with his imaginary hate-bullets.

"Sakura," the Hokage pulled Sakura out of her reverie on her imminent fake-betrayal to gesture toward the other three shinobi in the plot, "These are the people who will be pretending to chase you."

The afore mentioned kunoichi looked over her shoulder and gave a relieved smile. Behind her stood the uncertain faces of Rock Lee, Hatake Kakashi, and Yamanaka Ino, three of her closest companions. At least her four best friends would be certain of her innocence. She stood and threw her arms around each of them, giving them all a tight hug before wiping away a stray tear. "Oh, you guys..."

Lee flashed her that friendly, but blinding, smile that could only belong to Gai and himself and gave her a thumbs up. "We all have the utmost confidence in you, Sakura-san."

Much to her discontent, however, nobody else in the room looked so confident and upbeat. In fact, everybody else looked as though they'd lost their best friend, who she assumed was herself. Even Lee's smile seemed forced, now that she was looking hard enough.

"Alright," Tsunade declared, "The mission has officially begun. Sakura, you may now kidnap Naruto."

On cue, Naruto stood and turned to her, a look ranging from sadness to frustration to anger to hatred on his face. Sakura hefted him over her shoulder with a grunt and a "Man, Naruto, you gotta lay off the ramen" in a feeble attempt to break the tension, then took off.

As she emerged from the tower, she heard Ino shout, "Sakura! What do you think you're doing?!"

She continued forward, making impressive speed what with Naruto's dead weight slowing her down.

"Sakura-san!" Lee exclaimed, trying to catch as much attention as possible. "Stop!"

Kakashi was assuring other shinobi that the three of them could handle it as he whizzed by with the others and Sakura could see the border become larger as they drew nearer.

Gasping in a deep breath, she thought, _Goodbye, home, I'll miss you. _Then, in one last stride, she passed over the threshold of the the village gates and became a true missing-nin. Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision, but she neither stopped nor slowed down, working her way through the forest by memory alone.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto hollered, "I can run now, can you put me down?"

She didn't bother to dignify him with an answer. Put him down? Of course she couldn't put him down! Putting him down would mean stopping and the less time she spent in the forest the better. So, she trekked forward, Kakashi, Ino and Lee right on her heels.

Finally, after an agonizingly long hour, Sakura could see the end of the forest, which meant the end of the escort service. All five shinobi stood in the open field, a tense silence emanating over them.

Kakashi was the first to break it by pulling Sakura into a hug and saying, "The best of luck, Sakura."

"Thank you, Sensei," she replied, reverting back to calling him sensei again and hugged him as tightly as she could, sniffling.

Then, it was Lee's turn. He grabbed her in a spine-crunching hug and told her, "Just remember, Sakura-san, the flower of youth is within you. Never forget that, okay?"

"Okay, I don't know what that means, but thanks, Lee-san."

Finally, it was Ino's turn. She stood off to the side and eyed the pink-haired kunoichi sadly. "You gonna be alright, Sakura? Like, really alright? You're going to come back, aren't you?"

"Of course," Sakura answered, smiling half-heartedly, "I'll be back before you know it."

"Aw," the blond teased playfully, feigning disappointment, "And here I thought I'd have Sasuke-kun all to myself without your huge forehead in the way."

Giggling, Sakura said, "In your dreams, Ino-pig. Just wait till I tell your beloved Shikamaru about that little comment when I get back."

Ino smirked. "Billboard Brow."

"Ino-pig."

And, with that, Sakura and Naruto took off in the direction of Amegakure.

* * *

It had been a long night, but just as dawn was approaching, Sakura and Naruto made it to where they decided Sakura should make camp. Far enough away from the village that the scouts wouldn't find her, but close enough that she could still hear the murmurings of the guards, this was the ideal spot.

Dropping her pack on the damp ground, she looked around sadly. It was hot, humid, threatening to rain soon, everything around her was drenched. It certainly wasn't the Ritz, but what could she do? She was a missing-nin now and a vagrant rogue had very few options.

"Alright," Naruto said with a stretch, "Now that we're miles from Konoha, I can properly warn you without Baa-chan getting in the way."

"Warn me about what?" Sakura asked, "Does this have anything to do with whatever you're all keeping from me?"

The blond nodded. "Listen, Sakura-chan, if you go to the Akatsuki, things are going to happen. Things that you can't even imagine. If you go to the Akatsuki, you'll never be able to escape."

"Why?" she asked, "Tell me what the truth is, please!"

Naruto shook his head, biting his lower lip. "I can't. I can't put you through that. But, once I leave, you have to run away."

"Where to?"

"Anywhere, just don't let them find you."

"But then I can't come home."

"Trust me, Sakura-chan, that's better than the truth." He pulled her into a tight embrace, whispered in her ear, "Take care of yourself... please," then raced back in the direction of Konoha.

Sakura could only stand there, watching Naruto run off, wondering just what was going on so suddenly. Why was everybody acting so strangely? What was the secret and what did it have to do with the Akatsuki? Why was Tsunade so adamant about her involvement in this particular mission?

Sitting on the cold, wet ground and leaning against a cold, wet tree, she opted to think more about this once she awoke.

* * *

A/N: Sweet dreams, Sakura! ... That was sarcasm.


	5. The Arrival

A/N: Well, chapter four! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"_Sakura-chan?" her mother asked, "Where have you been? I put dinner down an hour ago!"_

"_Well, I-I was... um..."_

"_Were you with that boy again?"_

"_Um..."_

"_I thought I told you that I don't want you around him?"_

"_But, I—!"_

"_I see the look in his eyes when he looks at you. You're five years old, much too young to have a boyfriend."_

"_Momma, I—!"_

"_Even the Yamanakas have been saying that they say you two in the meadow... kissing! I don't want to ever catch you around him ever again!"_

"_I love him!"_

* * *

Shooting awake, Sakura looked around shakily, wrapping her arms around herself. Her entire body shook and, despite the heat from the sun poking through the trees, the cool sweat left her cold.

She shook her head, clearing her mind of her dream and setting her thoughts on her mission. She stood up, deciding she'd take a look around for any sign of being found out or a place to wash up.

Jumping into the trees, she quickly noticed the dampness of the wood and the leaves. Well, duh, it wasn't called _Hidden Rain_ for its summer droughts.

"_I love him!" _Had she really said that about somebody other than Sasuke? No, that wasn't possible, she would have remembered making such a declaration. In fact, she also would have remembered having such a heated kiss with somebody. Whatever this sudden disturbance was within Konoha, it obviously had nothing to do these odd dreams.

"Did you hear?"

Suppressing the need to gasp, Sakura stopped on a sturdy branch and pressed her back firmly against the trunk of the tree, making sure not to be found out. See? That's why she'd tried to focus solely on her mission and not on her dreams. She hadn't even sensed anybody in the area.

"About Haruno Sakura betraying Konoha?" asked a second voice, sounding shocked, "I know! Apparently, she kidnapped the Kyuubi container, you know the really annoying blond guy, yesterday morning and is headed in our direction."

"Really?" asked the first voice, "I heard she was headed toward Iwa."

"No, it's definitely Ame," the second voice stated, "It's such a shock, too! Isn't she, like, supposed to be Tsunade's apprentice? She was totally my idol, I can't imagine myself fighting her."

That made tears sting the back of Sakura's eyes.

"But they're also saying that she's been mentally unbalanced lately, apparently having all these dreams and delusions that are making her crazy. Hopefully she'll snap out of it before it's too late."

They were talking about it as if it were all a big soap opera! As if it didn't matter what happened because they had nothing to do with it. It pissed Sakura off.

"I wonder what's going to happen to the Jinchuuriki once she gets caught. I mean, the guy was annoying, but he doesn't deserve to have his soul sucked out by a group of maniacal terrorists."

_You mean _if_ I get caught, don't you? _

"We'd best get back," the first female said, "Or the feudal lord will have a cow."

Once the two Ame shinobi were long gone, Sakura finally relaxed, hopping down from the tree to walk back to her makeshift camp. Just as she got back, a raindrop hit the tip of her nose, and she looked up to see the sky suddenly overcast.

Sighing, she sat down and waited. All she could hope was that, if they even came at all, the Akatsuki would come soon. She scoffed with a roll of her eyes. Yeah, right, if they even came at all, it could take anywhere from days to years for them to show up.

All she could do was hope it would be the first.

* * *

Well, hours turned to days and days turned to weeks until three weeks went by and the lack of anybody to talk to was really beginning to take its toll on our pink-haired kunoichi .She was dirty, tired, cold, and the rain hadn't stopped once it started that first day. Her meals consisted of whatever forest critters she could get her hands on and she made a pitiful attempt at killing time by carving doodles into her tree with a kunai.

She drew things like the Leaf symbol with the words "Konoha RULEZ" or "Ame sucks, Love Kiri". Then, when she got tired of that, she practiced her jutsu, mainly her medical techniques, on animals.

But, finally, after twenty-three agonizingly long days, her chance to escape finally arrived.

"Haruno-san."

Sakura looked up to find a cloaked figure with a straw hat hiding his face standing before her.

The Akatsuki had arrived.

* * *

A/N: Sweet dreams, Sakura! ... That was sarcasm.

So short T-T


	6. Missing Nin 101

A/N: Hoorah for chapter six! XDD And, I know, I accidentally said chapter four last chap. Sorry n.n; I've got to get my chapter's straight... n.n; And I also know that you guys are probably getting alerted twice for one chapter. That's also because I need to get my chapters straight. I keep on uploading the chapter before n.n;

Sorry!

* * *

Sakura stared up at the unknown man with unveiled curiosity. Was this man after three long, painful weeks of zero contact with a human being, actually speaking to _her_?

"Terribly sorry to have kept you waiting so long," the cloaked figure apologized, "But Leader-sama told me to wait to contact you until a few weeks had passed to see how well you did in isolation."

Oh, this was the part where she was supposed to act confused and surprised, wasn't it? She wasn't yet supposed to know, after all, why the Akatsuki would be here of all places. Well, with no contact with anybody for so long, whether she was supposed to be confused or not didn't matter because all she could manage was a "huh?" anyway.

"I'll allow my superiors to explain," the man said, extending a hand to her. "Shall we go?

_Hell, yeah!_ her mind screamed, glad to be able to have some sort of roof over her head... even if that roof was provided by the Akatsuki. But, because appearances were supposed to mean everything, she kept up the act by eying the man warily, digging through the last of her self-control not to jump into the man's arms right then and there.

"I assure you that you will not be harmed, Haruno-san, my superiors have a great need for you."

"And who are your superiors exactly?" Was that really her voice? She hadn't spoken for so long that the sound of it surprised her.

The man chuckled. "You'll see."

So, with mock reluctance and the last of her remaining self-control to make sure that she didn't squeal with delight, she took the man's hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She turned to grab her pack, but was stopped by the man's firm hand on her shoulder.

"Allow me," he offered, amusement clear in his voice as he shouldered his bag.

Sakura squinted her eyes to try and see through the shadows that the man's hat created, but all she could make out was his playful smirk. He pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her so that he could do a few hand signs, and they were immediately transported out of the forest and, most importantly, the rain.

As the smoke dispersed, Sakura found herself in a room. In a room made of stone. In a room made of stone with a desk, chairs and an old-fashioned wood-burning furnace thing. She took in a deep breath of the furnished-room air and smiled. Office.

She supposed it was safe to assume it was the Akatsuki leader's office. But, if this was, in fact, said leader's study, where was said leader?

"Pein-sama will be here in a moment," her escort stated, as though reading her mind.

"What are you, his assistant?" she asked.

The perfect missing-nin jibe. This wasn't so hard.

The man only chuckled and answered, "I suppose you could say that." Then, he left, closing the door behind himself.

Sakura wondered what she was supposed to do next. Would a missing-nin wait to be offered a seat or did they simply assume that they earned their chair through their supreme evilness?

_Supreme evilness,_ she decided and sat down.

Now, how would a real missing-nin sit? All straight and proper, slouched, or somewhat in between? She slouched in the chair, crossed her grimy legs and folded her arms over her chest. This seemed missing-ninish. Ooh, would a missing-nin take the desk chair?

Before she had a chance to decide, the door opened and another man in an Akatsuki-patterned cloak and straw hat sauntered into the room. He silently crossed the room and walked around the desk to sit in his chair.

"Haruno Sakura," the man said with unveiled amusement, his voice sending shivers down her spine, making her sit straight, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

This man's voice... it was like nothing she had ever heard before. It had a scary edge to it that made his amusement sound dangerous, that made _him_ sound dangerous. Oh, dear, what had she gotten herself into?

"I've heard so much about you," the man carried on, "Though, you dyed your hair... very smart, ninjutsu would have made you noticeable in an instant. You truly are the genius people make you out to be."

_Don't cry, Sakura, don't cry... missing-nin don't cry. Remember that, Sakura, missing-nin don't cry._

"Oh, but I suppose I'm at an unfair advantage," that man stated, placing a hand on his straw hat, "You see, I know everything about you, but you know nothing about me. Well..." He pulled off the hat to show a shock of orange-red hair, silver eyes and a pale complexion.

What riled a gasp out of her, however, was the assortment of facial piercings. Ears, nose, eyebrows, lips, chin... there must have been twenty or thirty of them on his face alone! She had never seen such a thing.

"My name," he said, a warm (but equally deadly) smile on his face, "Is Pein and I am the Akatsuki leader.

_Don't cry, Sakura, please, for the love of God, don't cry!_

"By the look on your face, I'm guessing you're surprised by my appearance?"

_Show no weakness! _She glared at him.

Pein smirked in satisfaction and leaned back in his chair, making a steeple with his fingers. "Well, now that the introductions are over and done with, why don't we move right along to business, shall we?"

"Let's,"Sakura agreed, surprised by the strength in her voice, "Why have you brought me here?"

"You have accomplished an amazing feat by managing to capture the Kyuubi container," he answered, "Uzumaki Naruto-kun, isn't it?" Dismissing his own question with a wave of his hand, he carried on, "That doesn't matter... what does matter is that you actually captured him. Please, do tell me how you managed to pull off such a tremendous accomplishment?"

With a nonchalant shrug, Sakura answered, "I just threw him over my shoulder and ran hell for leather out of the village."

The Akatsuki leader chuckled. "How efficient." With a sigh, he said, "As I assume you are aware, a couple of my... er... associates attempted to capture the Jinchuuriki, but they—"

"Failed miserably?"

"Simply put, yes," he allowed with a nod, "So I'm sure you can imagine how impressive this is to me that you even managed to get through the Konoha border with the Jinchuuriki as your captive and that you are now sitting before me with your health intact... well, in most respects, anyway."

Sakura permitted that one to slide, knowing that she must have looked terrible and smelled even worse.

"So, am I here for a reason or did you just want to discuss with me how awesome I am?" Spoken like a true missing-nin.

"Actually," Pein said, "I've had my eye on you for a number of years now and, seeing as you no longer hold your allegiance to the Leaf, I wonder if you wouldn't care to turn your loyalties to the Akatsuki."

_Don't get too excited, make him work for it, Sakura!_

"You're offering me a job?" she asked dryly, quirking an unimpressed brow.

"Once again, simply put, yes."

"But Na—," she paused and cleared her throat, "The Jinchuuriki escaped."

"That may be true, but you have gotten farther than any of my men have so far and that, in my personal opinion, deserves some merit."

"Any benefits?"

"Of course," he answered lightly, as though discussing the weather, "There is a salary that we make from selling shinobi supplies to neighboring villages—anonymously, naturally—, then, there's the great amount of freedom to do as you wish with very few expectations, unlike all the laws in villages."

"You're being awfully confident in my loyalty," Sakura commented, "Quite uncharacteristic of a terrorist. Why are you so willing to cough up all this info?"

She noticed an odd glint pass over the Akatsuki leader's eyes as he answered, "A very good question. To be quite frank with you, Haruno-san, if you don't accept my immensely generous offer, I have somebody waiting outside that very door with orders to kill you... slowly."

A jolt ran down her spine, telling her not to take his threat lightly as she inquired, "And if I do accept your immensely generous offer?"

"The man who has been ordered to kill you will personally escort you to your new home."

Biting down on her lower lip in feigned thought as she said, "Well, gee, that's a toughie..." Then, with a shrug, she said, "How can I refuse those terms?"

Pein smiled coldly. "Fabulous." Then, he hollered toward the door behind her, "You may enter now."

The door opened and then closed, but she didn't dare turn around to see who the next person given the honor of escorting her was. Until...

"You called for me, Sir?"

The sound of the man's voice made every blood cell in Sakura's body run cold. The familiarity of it... where had she heard the voice before? She whirled in her seat to see none other than Uchiha Itachi—that's right, _the_ Uchiha Itachi—standing behind her, those blood red eyes of his as cold as ice.

* * *

A/N: Yay! XDDDD Itachi's finally shown up! Wootage! Now to get the two in the same bed and we're good! X3


	7. Home Sweet Home, Or Maybe Not

A/N: Chapter seven, everyone! Enjoy X3

* * *

"You called for me, Sir?"

Going through every available memory she had on hand, Sakura tried to remember if she'd ever heard the elder Uchiha's voice before this day. Much to her chagrin, her mind continually returned empty-handed.

Despite the emotionless look on the Uchiha's face, every emotion rang clear in his eyes: reluctance; apprehension; anger... pain?

"Yes," Pein answered, jerking his head toward a chair, gesturing for the other man to take a seat.

_Oh, dear Lord, they _do_ wait to be offered a seat! I am_ so _done for!_

Itachi sat down two seats away from her, but she could still smell the woodsy scent on him.

"Seeing as how both you and Hoshigaki are in charge of obtaining the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and Haruno-san here has actually succeeded... to a point... I want her to join the both of you," Pein stated, "When the other teams are on their missions she will accompany them as a medic-nin."

Itachi blinked slowly in acknowledgment and Sakura wondered if that was an assent or an agreement.

"You may take her to her new home."

Still remaining silent, the Uchiha stood from his seat and headed for the door without even a backward glance to see if Sakura was following.

Pein nodded to her. "You may take your leave, Haruno-san, I look forward to seeing more great things from you in the near future."

"Thank you... er... Pein-sama." The title left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she made sure not to show any of her discomfort.

Standing from her seat, she rushed out of the office to catch up with her partner-in-crime (literally) to go to her new home-sweet-hellhole (almost as literal). She walked down the stone hallway until she found Itachi heading toward the exit, making amazing speed.

_Okay, Sakura, act casual... _"Hey, wait up!" she hollered, racing after him and catching the door before it closed on her face.

When the man refused to stop, or even slow down, for that matter, she sighed in frustration and continued to pump her tired arms to trail after him. "Hey!" she called as he jumped into the trees. She couldn't even get a little sleep before going off and running around again? "Arrogant jerk," she grumbled, glaring at the ground underneath her feet as she carried forward.

Then, moments later, she ran right into something and she looked up to find Uchiha Itachi glaring down his nose at her. _Oh, God, I'm going to die and I haven't changed my underwear in... how long?!_

"You act tough, but I can see the fear in your eyes," he said softly, his voice lacking any life or personality whatsoever.

"Yeah?" she asked, glaring right back at him, "Well, I can see the weakness in your own."

"Hot words for a kunoichi of the Leaf."

"I no longer belong to Konoha, that's why I'm here."

He snorted, turning on his heels as he said, "Keep up, we've got a long way to go, even longer with how weak you look."

_Cocky bastard... can't we just transport ourselves like the other guy did?_

Despite her frustrations at Uchiha Itachi, however, the nagging familiarity of his voice remained at the forefront of her thoughts, only fueling her irritation. But she managed to keep up, nevertheless, matching her teammate stride for stride.

... Big mistake. Because of the rain and her need to keep on the lookout (and because of the irritating dreams that never seemed to go away), Sakura hadn't gotten much sleep while in Ame. So, these past long weeks were beginning to take their toll on her, both physically and emotionally. She was lashing out every chance that came waltzing by, tripped over anything and everything, and cussed pretty much nonstop. Not a bad way to spend the first five minutes of their journey.

Through all the clumsiness, curses and hateful words, however, a part of Sakura's subconscious mind noticed Itachi's seemingly uncharacteristic patience and the look of uncertainty on his normally stoic countenance. Something was definitely going on.

* * *

"_Sakura?" a voice pierced the darkness around her_

"_Hm?"_

"_If I... if I did something really bad—," he stopped when his voice caught and then carried on, "Would you still love me?"_

"_I'll always love you, Silly."_

"_Even if I... killed somebody?"_

_There was a long pause before her voice reappeared, "Everybody makes mistakes."_

_His lips met her cheek and he whispered into her ear in that way that always made her nuts, "Watashi no taisetsu." _

My... beloved?

"_No matter what," she whispered, snuggling into his chest._

"_Soome what may," the man added, "Because we will always be together."_

_And then, a new voice: "Oh, God, Itachi, the compound!"_

* * *

"Sakura," somebody whispered, pulling her from the dream she was having, "Sakura-san, wake up.

"The compound!" she shrieked, forcing her eyes open. Panting and shaking, Sakura stared up at Itachi's worry-stricken face obstructing her view and tried to force back the tears welling in her eyes.

Wait... worry? She closed her eyes a moment, then reopened them to see that usual emotionless look on his pale features. _Must have been a trick of the moonlight. _She sat up with a yawn and looked around the clearing where they'd made camp, her eyes bleary. Then, she looked back to Itachi's pale face and noticed the onset of bags under his eyes. "How long has it been since you slept?"

He shrugged his answer, averting his gaze to the surrounding forest. He rested his arms on his slightly bent knees and let out a silent sigh, only noticeable to Sakura by the heave of his shoulders.

"Go to sleep," she commanded, knowing full-well she'd never be able to fall back asleep tonight, "I'll keep watch."

He looked back to her, his Sharingan-clad eyes glowing in the moonlight, giving him a sinister look that Sakura knew did not belong there. "And let you escape? Not a chance."

"What makes you think I want to escape?" she inquired dryly, quirking her brow, "Why would I even try? I wasn't bullied into Akatsuki, I joined of my own free will and so I intend to stay."

He eyed her softly, but critically. It was obvious he still wasn't convinced of her loyalty, which wasn't unprecedented, but still, it was pretty damn annoying.

"Or, are you afraid I'll try to kill you in your sleep, hm?"

His eyes went back to the forest, proving her suspicion correct.

"Trust me, Partner, I don't think it'd look good on my part if I attempted to kill you before I even started working... or is it, seeing as how we're terrorists?"

He didn't reply, not even a smile.

"Look, just lay down and close your eyes," she persisted, "I swear on my life that, when you wake up, you'll be alive and I'll be right here."

So, very reluctantly, he lay on his back, closing his eyes, making his look switch from demonic to angelic under the moonlight. His pale, flawless skin glowed ethereally under the moon's light rays, his eyelashes so long, his lips full... he truly was beautiful.

_Well, _she thought,_ In that evil, clan-killer sort of way..._

The natural lines under his eyes made him look older than he probably was: about nineteen, twenty or so, and his long raven-black hair, tied back in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck, made the red of his Sharingan look even more striking.

_Okay, okay, he's hotter than Sasuke, happy now?_

Then, her dream came back into her memory and she remembered that an unfamiliar voice had called for Itachi. How did Itachi come in? Why was even just his name in her dream in the first place? What did it mean?

She skimmed her eyes over the forest quickly before allowing them to, once again, rest upon the Uchiha's Adonis-like features.

His chest rose and fell evenly in time with his breathing, giving away the fact that he had fallen asleep. His eyes fluttered softly, telling her that he was dreaming about something, a sigh escaped his barely parted lips and Sakura faintly heard him utter the words, "Watashi no taisetsu."

_... What? Wasn't that...? No, no, it's just my imagination... o-or a coincidence! It means nothing!_

He unconsciously swiped at his nose from an imaginary itch and she barely heard him whisper, "Sakura, run."

_It... means... nothing!_

* * *

A couple days later, the two finally made it to a large razor-wire fence that ran the perimeter of roughly 300 meters. Inside that fence lay a large stone building resembling that of a prison.

"Rather conspicuous, isn't it?" she asked, cocking a questioning brow at the Uchiha.

"This isn't the base," he corrected, "It's a diversion, meant to be conspicuous."

"Oh?"

"Come," he commanded, heading off into the forest again, "Follow me."

After an hour or so of more walking, they finally came upon a large cave, an even larger boulder blocking its entrance.

"You live in a cave?"

"Another diversion."

"How many diversions are there?"

"A few... dozen."

"You people sure don't take risks, do you?"

"You mean '_we_ people', don't you?"

She smiled sheepishly, trying to make it look like it had been just a slip of the tongue and not her inner thoughts coming out of their own accord.

If achi was suspicious over the slip, he never let on, explaining, "Better safe than sorry, over-compensating is much better than some hikers stumbling upon our base and blabbing around about it."

"_The_ Uchiha Itachi using the word 'blab'?" she asked with feigned horror to try and conceal her fear and concern with humor, "For shame!"

Itachi chuckled in reply.

"Let's skip the scenic route and head straight for the base, shall we?"

He shrugged. "If you prefer." He turned on his heel and headed back in the direction whence they came. Then, they came upon a small cottage, a pretty pathetic one, at that. The shutters were hanging off their hinges, window panes cracked or broken altogether, dead, mutilated flowers surrounding the little house in a garden bed filled with unhealthy-looking soil.

"I thought we were heading straight for the base?" she inquired, then, taking another look at their surroundings, commented, "This is one crappy diversion."

Itachi placed his hands on her shoulders from behind and whispered in her ear—in a way that made her shudder—, "This isn't a diversion."

"Wha...?"

He walked around her and headed for the rotting door, running a finger along one side of the frame. "Chakra unlocks the door and if it doesn't recognize the chakra, it'll send an electric current through the person's body. Not too much, just enough to kill them."

The door swung open on its own and Itachi turned to look at Sakura. "Welcome to your new home."

* * *

A/N: Lucky! I wanna be Itachi's roommate! DX


	8. Unexpected Hospitality

A/N: Originally, this chapter was almost three thousand words long, but I decided that that was _way_ too long, so I moved part of it over to the next chapter. I _really_ don't want the story to be too rushed, so, yeah...

Enjoy!

* * *

Walking warily into the cottage, Sakura was met by a long stone corridor, dimly lit by the help of several torches spaced evenly along the walls.

_Wow, the Akatsuki really likes the stone prison motif, huh? _"Genjutsu," she pointed out as she looked around her surroundings with her well-trained eyes, "The whole shabby cottage look is just yet another diversion to keep anybody else from knowing that the base is actually hidden inside."

"Good eye," he complimented, "Come, I'll show you to your new room."

That's when Sakura finally noticed the lack of her pack's weight on her shoulders and she realized that the man that had taken her to Pein had never given it back to her. She groaned with exasperation, "My pack!"

"Don't worry," Itachi reassured her as he headed down the faintly lit hallway, "You'll be provided with a new wardrobe and weapons' set. It all comes with the Akatsuki package. Now hurry up, we haven't all day."

She quickly caught up to him, dryly noting that he made it sound like she was on vacation in a five-star hotel. She followed him through several hallways, each one identical to the one before it, making it impossible to tell if they were going in circles or not.

Finally, Itachi stopped in front of a door and said, "This is your room, there's a bathroom right across the hall. Don't worry about having to share it with any of us. Apparently women need their privacy, so I made sure that Kisame and myself are going to have our own bathrooms, as well, so this one is yours alone."

"Uh... thanks," she mumbled, shocked at the man's hospitality.

"Oh," he added , turning and beginning to leave, "And make sure not to touch any of the doors leading outside the base, or else you'll get a bit of a shock." He chuckled at his own understating humor and added, "Consider this your probation." And, with that, he turned the corner and disappeared, leaving Sakura startled and stupefied.

Probation? She was an official Akatsuki member, and yet Itachi had the gall to tell her that she was on probation? How long would it be before the bastard trusted her? Sighing impatiently, she walked into her room and slammed the door shut behind herself. She fell into her new queen-sized bed and, before she had a chance to rant about how utterly irritating Uchiha Itachi was, she was asleep.

* * *

Although her sleep was littered with dream after dream of herself and her dream-man, she found herself unable to float back into consciousness. All she could do was lay on the soft clouds beneath her and listen to the two voices talk to each other, conveying their undying devotion for one another.

Then, right in the middle of one of the conversations, she was randomly thrust out of her slumber and found herself in her room, buried under the covers of the vaguely familiar bed.

Remembering where she was, Sakura sighed and took a look around the room she hadn't bothered to inspect before falling asleep what felt like mere seconds ago. The bed she lay in was fitted entirely in red, was made of an oddly comfortable material and was large enough to hold about three or four people slightly uncomfortably. At the other end of the room, closer to the door with a desk and a wide assortment of stationary and writing utensils spread neatly around the top. On the other side of the desk, in the corner, was a door that she presumed was safe to assume was the closet.

Yeah, if it weren't for the walls made of stone, the window and door frames reinforced with steel and the overall depressing atmosphere, this could almost pass off as a normal bedroom... almost.

_Well, might as well see what my fellow terrorists are up to, _she thought sarcastically, reluctantly sitting up from the goose down pillows. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she tentatively placed her feet on the stone floor, only to quickly retract them and put them back under the covers. The floor was so cold!

Looking around for some sort of salvation for her feet, she found a pair of shinobi regulation sandals along with a pair of sweat pants, a black shirt that held just enough mesh to show a great deal of cleavage and (God forbid) an Akatsuki cloak.

Well, figuring that wearing the cloak might make the road to Itachi trusting her just a little bit smaller, she rushed across the room in almost one bound, rushed herself into the outfit and hopped into the shoes.

The outfit was definitely too large for her, draping around her body like a sheet, making her guess that these clothes had to have belonged to Itachi. The thought of him skulking into her room while she slept made her shudder from the sheer creepiness of it.

_Well, _she mentally told herself with a sigh, _Time to go show Itachi how hot I look in his clothes. _She headed for the door and opened it, only to rear back in surprise at the sight of said terrorist standing there. He was leaning casually against the wall opposite her door, his arms crossed over his chest, a bored expression on his face.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to stand outside my bedroom door while I sleep?"

He shrugged, replying, "I only came to see whether you were alive or not to hear you leaping around the room. It was about time you woke up."

"Really?" she asked, his last comment piquing her interest, "How long have I been asleep, exactly?"

"It's coming upon eleven hours."

"Eleven hours!" she exclaimed in shock, "I've never slept so much in my life!"

He only blinked in reply.

"Well," she muttered mostly to herself, "I suppose there's a first time for everything."

"Perhaps," Itachi said, changing the subject as his eyes roamed the curves hidden beneath the drapes of clothing, "You would like to bathe before putting on clean clothes?

All Sakura could do was blink uncomprehendingly. Bathe? How long had it been since she'd been able to have a real bath with hot water? How long had it been since she'd even gotten the comfort of using a mirror?

The man quirked a brow at her when she didn't answer immediately and she nodded shakily. "A-A bath. Yes, a bath would be nice."

"Well, I took the liberty of drawing you one, so you may go ahead," he told her, "Take as long as you'd like."

She murmured a thank you, keeping her eyes to the floor to keep the man before her from seeing the surprise in them, heading for the bathroom. Wow, if his career as a clan-killing terrorist failed (thoughshe doubted it would, seeing as how he seemed to be quite good at his job), he would certainly work wonderfully in a hotel.

Shutting the bathroom door behind herself, she sighed, leaning against the wall for support. Despite apparently sleeping for so long, she was still exhausted. She could sleep on a rock at that moment.

Looking to the bath longingly, she noticed just how ancient it looked. It was one of those wooden ones that looked like a hot tub, the water filled almost to the rim, the steam rising from it making it look very inviting.

Then, she turned toward the mirror and gasped in shock at her appearance. Could that really be her? The large, dark circles that had been there before she left for the mission were now larger, darker and more defined; her complexion pallid and sickly; her brown hair was grimy, greasy and dirt-coated, pink roots showing closer to her scalp. Her eyes were slightly sunken, her lips dry and cracked, and her cheeks seemed to have sunken in a little, as well, most likely from lack of food. She was hideous!

When tears began to well in her eyes, she pushed them back and turned her back toward the mirror, beginning to undress and ignoring the fact that she could now count her ribs. She sighed happily, forgetting all that, as she stepped into the tub and allowed her head to be submerged in the hotness. Her breath escaped while she was underwater and she waited several moments before allowing herself to come to the surface.

Looking to the side, she was amazed to see that one, or both, of her new Akatsuki roomies had prepared for her induction into the organization. She now had her choice of shampoos, conditioners and soaps, each lined neatly on a shelf hanging from the wall.

Oh, sweet, sweet Akatsuki. She couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she could kiss one of those terrorists right then.

She quickly grabbed a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap to begin her bath. Itachi had said to take her time and that was exactly what she intended to do.

* * *

A/N: Better n.n


	9. The Good Ol' Days

A/N:Okay! Chapter nine! We'll have some ItaSaku convo in this one and some real ItaSaku fluff in the next one! Excited? I know you are.

* * *

After what seemed like moments, however, she heard a knock sound at the door, pulling her from her relaxation and sighed. "Yes?" she asked through clenched teeth, glaring at the offending door.

"I know I told you to take your time, Sakura-san," Itachi's voice sounded on the other side of the door, "But if you don't come out soon, you may very well turn into a prune."

Unsubmerging her hands from the water, she inspected them and noticed that she was, indeed, on her way to becoming a raisin. "How long have I been in here?"

"About an hour."

She sighed, running her hands through her now-clean hair. Where had her sense of time gone? Well, that was a simple question: it had gone along with her freedom and her sanity; down the tubes.

"Alright," she said, reaching for the towel hanging from the bar above her head, "Give me five minutes."

She didn't hear a response and so assumed that he'd already left her to her business.

Once again, like when she had left her bed, when she left the tub, she was met with a freezing chill that left her shivering. Quickly toweling off, she jumped back into her clothes and shoes and used the cloak like a bathrobe, wrapping it around herself. She stepped out of the bathroom and looked down both directions of the hallway, wondering which way she was supposed to go. Which way was Itachi? Where did he go?

"Turn left," she heard his echo float down the stone corridor, "Then take a right at the end of the hallway."

She did as told and turned at the end of the hall only to find an identical hallway.

"The second last door on the right."

When she got to her destination, she opened the swinging door to find a kitchen, Itachi leaning against the counter, studying a mango rather scrupulously.

"Come in," he commanded, not taking his attention away from the fruit in his hand.

She walked into the room and allowed the door to swing closed behind herself. "What's with the mango?" she asked, standing at the man's side.

"It's tainted."

"You mean, like, rotten or something?"

"No," he answered, "I mean poisoned."

"Somebody tried to poison you?" she inquired, surprised at how obvious the assassination attempt seemed to be. It looked like whoever had done such a thing either had little other choice or highly underestimated the rogue Uchiha.

_Serves him right for being a terrorist._

"Tried to poison _you_," the Uchiha corrected.

"_Me_?"

_Serves me right for being a _fake_ terrorist. _

"Kisame wasn't all too pleased to hear that you would be joining the ranks," Itachi explained. "That stupid fool, doing something so obvious... I expected better from him."

_Does he not care that I could have died?!_

He tossed the poisoned fruit into the trash and turned his back to her, suggesting, "You should eat something, you must be hungry."

As though on cue, her empty stomach growled hungrily, making heard its complaints of being fed only rain water and food pills for the last few weeks. She picked up a grape from a dish on the counter and asked, "Is it safe?"

"I, again, took the liberty of buying fresh food while you were asleep, seeing as we can no longer trust that Kisame left any of the food safe. It's all in the fridge."

"Where is said tuna fish, anyway?"

She could have sworn she heard a chuckle from Itachi, whose back was still facing her. "He left for Leader-sama's base last night. Most likely to keep out of my way when I found out about the food."

"Hm," she grunted, her attention straying to the bowl of ripe, juicy-looking fruit on the counter, her mind wandering to thoughts of what array of food lay in the refrigerator.

When she opened the door, it was like seeing the gateway to heaven. The light of the fridge shone down on all of its contents, making her feel as though she were in a dream. Fruits, vegetables, dango, meats, poultries; so many different options to choose from! How on earth was she ever going to make up her mind on what to eat? The thought of all of these things hitting her tongue made her mouth water in anticipation.

"Feel free to help yourself to whatever you like," Itachi told her, his voice barely breaking through her reverie, "You must be famished."

_Don't mind if I do!_

She started with a nectarine. Then, she went back for another. Then, she took a bundle of grapes and a piece of cold ham. After that, when she was patient enough to cook something, she had a couple pieces of toast and a bowl of cereal. The meals just kept coming and coming and, with each one, her eyes teared up with appreciation.

Then, she noticed the rogue Uchiha's eyes on her and instantly felt self-conscious. She must have looked like a pig in his eyes now. She smiled sheepishly in apology and forced herself to put down the chopsticks she was using for her omelet.

He shook his head, waving a dismissal of her silent apology. "Please, continue if you wish. A healthy appetite is the sign of a true shinobi. It shows how hard they work."

_He's certainly in a good mood... it's freaking me out. _She shrugged with a warmer smile and picked up the chopsticks once again to continue her feast, trying to ignore the man's eyes boring into her head.

"So, tell me," he said awfully nonchalantly, "How is my younger brother doing?"

That made her choke on a piece of egg and she looked up to Itachi with shocked incredulity, then, once she'd regained her composure, scowled, asking, "Like you care?"

He shrugged. "Humor me."

"He's better now that he's away from Orochimaru," she reluctantly answered, "I helped get him out of the prison cell where Tsunade-shi—Tsunade put him."

"And he's..." He paused to think of a word sufficient of his needs, "Of interest to you?"

Spearng him with a glare, she queried, "Why do you care?"

He onl shrugged again and repeated, "Humor me."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "He used to be."

"And he isn't anymore?"

It was her turn to shrug and lied through her teeth, "I don't care about all those petty shinobi from Konoha. I'm a missing-nin now and it's about time you faced that fact. Humored yet

Itachi smirked. "Quite... for now."

_Okay, I do not like that look in his eye!_

* * *

A/N: I do *swoon*


	10. The Other Side of the Story

A/N: The chapter with the fluff X3

* * *

The next few days went by quite quickly, Sakura spending the majority of her time eating, sleeping (when her dreams allowed her to) and bathing. All of this self-pampering she was doing made her wonder just how bad living as an Akatsuki member could be, to be able to live in this luxury. Though, naturally, the moment the thought hit her conscious mind, she quickly shooed it away, chastising herself for even thinking something so heinous.

Unfortunately, along with all this, she never kept her mind off of her mission. Which was... what, exactly? Not long after she had first arrived in Ame, she had realized that Tsunade never gave her any means of contacting the village or any way of passing on any information to anybody. She was cut off from the outside world entirely.

And then there was the _other_ confusing matter: Uchiha Itachi. As the few days passed, while she spent her time pampering herself on what seemed to be Itachi's dime, he continued to ask her trivial and meaningless questions about Konoha, most of them about her relationship with others... namely men. He seemed particularly interested in the goings on between herself and Sasuke whilst she had been so sure that she was in love with the Uchiha.

Actually, he almost seemed happy when she'd told him about how she'd smacked Sasuke a few times when he'd come home from Orochimaru.

And then, finally, he asked her the million dollar question: "What possessed you to steal the Jinchuuriki?"

She shrugged in what she hoped was nonchalance and explained, "I was only a couple months old when the Kyuubi attacked the village. I guess I was curious to see the demon for myself."

"When he escaped, why didn't you give chase? Why did you stay in Ame instead of going somewhere else?"

"Where else was there to go?" she answered with another question, "What's with the third degree, are you writing a book or something?"

He shook his head in the negative. "I'm only trying to figure you out."

"Figure me out?" she repeated, "What is there to figure out? I'm a medic-nin who joined Akatsuki for lack of anything better to do."

He shook his head, an absent-minded smile on his face. "You are a mystery to me. We all had valid reasons for becoming a missing-nin: some for glory; some for revenge or hate; myself..." he paused, his eyes locking on her own as he shook his head again and skipped that part, "But you... you joined Akatsuki because you 'felt like it'. A true mystery."

Sakura felt the heat rush to her face. His words sounded so vital in some unimaginable way, making her heart race, her breath on the verge of shallowing. The look in his eyes, the underlying meaning of his words, the familiarity of his voice... it was all connected in some invisible way and she just couldn't puzzle it out.

"I've been told you're having dreams at night?"

"Everybody has dreams at night," she pointed out almost breathlessly, trying to avert her gaze from the man's eyes but unable to... or just not wanting to.

He nodded in agreement to her comment. "That is true. However, not many people have quite the same issues thanks to their dreams. Will you tell me about them?"

"What are you, a shrink?" she asked coldly.

He only chuckled in response to her sudden anger.

Her anger dissipating as soon as it had come, she finally managed to close her eyes so that she could bow her head, then reopened them to watch her thumbs twiddle. "They're not anything important. They're just dreams."

Grunting in agreement, he added, "Dreams that are making you miserable."

Looking back up, she asked in half-relent-half-defiance, "Who says I'm miserable?"

"The pain is visible in your eyes," he told her, resting his chin on the back of one hand, "You truly are terrible at hiding the way you feel."

Sighing in exhaustion, she fully relented. "Fine, if it'll get you off my back, I'll tell you about the stupid dreams."

Staying silent, Itachi sat back up, waiting for her to begin.

"It started a few months ago," she started, "There were these two voices, a boy and a girl, talking to one another... about love. The guy keeps calling her by either her name, Sakura, or by the pet names he gives—"

"What are these pet names?" Itachi interjected, the slightest of wavers to his voice.

"He either calls her 'my Sakura' or 'watashi no taisetsu'."

"My beloved," he mumbled to himself, his eyes dazing over for barely a moment before the man's mind returned from wherever it had gone.

She nodded. "Usually, they're in a meadow, or else everything is in complete darkness where I can't see anything at all. But the things that remain constant throughout all the dreams is that they're always talking about love and I can't see either of them."

"And this Sakura... do you believe she is you?"

"I think so."

"And the man? Who's he?"

With a sad sigh, she said, "I wish I knew."

The two stayed in a tense silence for what felt like an eternity for Sakura as she tried to gauge any sort of reaction from the man in her company. All she could see in him, however, was that his eyes were, once again, dazed over and his lips were moving slightly with inaudible words.

"I-Itachi?" she called, softly tapping one of his hands with her own and jumping back in surprise when he jolted at the touch.

His breath was coming in and out loudly through his nose and his eyes were darting around the room, his hands now clenched into fists. When he calmed himself, he looked to the ground as he told her, "I can see why these dreams would be disturbing for you."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you."

"Excuse me," the rogue Uchiha muttered, standing so abruptly the chair he had been sitting in almost toppled over, and rushed out of the room. Moments later, she heard a door slam shut and Sakura assumed Itachi was in his bedroom.

_What was that about? _She wanted to go to him and ask what she had said to cause this reaction from him, but she didn't think she had the guts. She wanted to go and see if he was even okay, but, again, she didn't have the guts.

She was such a coward.

* * *

Itachi found himself sitting in his room, restless and angry. He so wanted to hit something, he so wanted to kill somebody. He so wanted to take Sakura in his arms and kiss her until she remembered their past.

He wanted to do so many things, but he had to hold back, all because of a stupid mistake he'd made all those years ago. He should have stayed with Sakura that night... he shouldn't have run off in need of revenge.

"Fuck," he cursed, his voice in a whisper, pacing around the room, trying to kill off some of that energy bubbling within him.

She really didn't remember... she remembered none of it, and yet the memories were getting through somehow. Maybe, if he told her the truth, she would begin to really remember?

No. He shook his head, dismissing the idea before he could even really think it over. He'd screwed up her life once before, he refused to do it again.

Resisting the urge to throw something, he clenched his fists and grit his teeth, trying to calm himself. He had to remain calm for Sakura. He couldn't allow her to think that anything was going on between them... no matter how much that hurt him.

"Watashi no taisetsu," he whispered into his hands, the image of the six-year-old Sakura unconscious in his arms stuck in his mind, "My Sakura."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so it's one-sided fluff, but fluff nonetheless. n.n"


	11. Resurfacing Feelings

A/N: Fluff, anyone?

* * *

For once, while Sakura slept, she didn't dream of herself and the mystery man that haunted her every thought. This time, she dreamed of Itachi. He stood before her in a background of darkness, both their bodies suspended in nothingness .He was smiling so warmly, a look of pure happiness in his eyes. The sight made Sakura realize that the man's face was made to smile. It just made him look all the more beautiful.

"Sakura," he called, pronouncing the name with such care, making sure to roll the "r" perfectly. The sound of it sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "My Sakura... watashi no taisetsu." He extended his hand to her and she reached out to take it.

Then, she heard that familiar sadistic chuckle as a gigantic snake began to coil itself around Itachi's body. The Uchiha looked shocked and unable to move as the snake tightened its hold on him, squeezing the life out of him.

"Sakura," he croaked out with an added choking noise.

"Itachi!" she cried, rushing toward him a bare moment too late as Itachi and the snake began to disappear into the surrounding nothingness. "No, Itachi, don't leave me! Please!"

"Sakura," he choked, his voice growing distant as he continued to grow out of sight. "Never forget."

"Forget what?" she asked the darkness, hoping desperately for an answer.

Unfortunately, all she got in reply was, "Never forget."

Then, he fully collapsed into the darkness, disappearing out of sight and out of mind.

"Huh," she mumbled to herself, "I wonder where I am." Then, with a touch of her face, she muttered, "Odd, my cheeks are all wet."

But still, despite the fact that she couldn't remember, Sakura could still hear Itachi's voice ringing in her ears, "Never forget, my Sakura, never forget, my love."

* * *

She shot awake screaming, tears in her eyes, fear and sadness in her heart.

The room glowed softly thanks to a dieing candle, making her surroundings seem peaceful and familiar to her. Then again, anything would have seemed peaceful after a dream like that. She heard something move and she quickly turned to her bedside to find Itachi sitting on a chair beside the bed, not bothering to mask his worry.

Oh, he was alive. The realization made her pounding heart calm a little. Then she questioned why she even cared whether the man lived or died. This was Uchiha Itachi, an s-class criminal, a murderer, why should she care what happened to him?

Nonetheless, no matter how many times she questioned the motives behind her relief, it didn't change the fact that she was happy to see him there.

"You were crying in your sleep," he whispered, answering an unasked question, "I wanted to come and see if you were alright. Was it another dream?"

She shook her head, smiling despite herself. "No, it wasn't," she answered as tears welled in her eyes. "It wasn't."

"Are you going to be alright?"

She nodded. "Just... let me..." Her reply trailed off on a sigh as she placed her fingertips on his cheek, as though to assure herself that he was really there. She allowed her hand to cup his cheek and her heart fluttered as he leaned into the caress, his hand overlapping hers. "Itachi," she whispered softly, her thumb tracing one of the lines under his eyes, her own eyes locked on his lips.

He licked his lips and she found herself watching the action, following it with her eyes. And then she looked up to meet his own eyes and couldn't help but smile. He was so warm despite his cool composure, he was so shy despite his large reputation... he was so attractive despite the truth of his actions.

Then, quicker than she could react, Itachi was on the bed, sitting on his knees, his face so close to hers she could feel his breath hit her face. His eyes delved into her own, the question visible in their endless depth,_ "May I?"_

She fingered the strands of hair that fell into his face, her other hand at the back of his neck, their eyes never breaking contact as she directed his lips to her own.

The kiss was soft and gentle, like the fluttering of butterfly wings, but there was still an explosion of feeling behind it that left Sakura dizzy. He placed his hand on the bed at either side of her, bringing himself closer to her as he slowly deepened the kiss.

She opened her mouth under his and his tongue happily accepted the invitation, thrusting itself into her mouth to meet hers. A moan escaped her throat as their tongues battled for supremacy and she began to fall onto her back, taking Itachi along with her.

His hands at her waist, tickling her softly, she wished that her clothes weren't hampering them, wished that he could touch her without the imposing cloth in the way.

"Oh, Itachi," she gasped as his mouth left hers to explore the sensitive skin behind her ear, "I never knew... how much I needed this."

"I know," he growled, his breath tickling her ear as he fondled her earlobe with his tongue, "I know, my Sakura."

Liquid heat pooled into her lower belly at the sound of his voice, at the feeling of his touch and she moaned when his hands slid under her shirt to run along her flat stomach.

She wished that he could hold her and touch her like this forever, she wanted him to start kissing her and never stop. She wanted to feel the warmth of his body against hers for eternity.

And then, a flash of light. Green eyes, smirking in hateful amusement. Pale skin, as white and cold as the dead. Long black hair... fangs... snakes...

"O-Orochimaru?" she whispered as the vision receded, leaving her cold and afraid.

Itachi tensed on top of her, his kisses ending abruptly, to raise himself and stare into Sakura's face. "What...?"

"He... he was in a dream," she whispered, "He was laughing, he did something to my mind... I-I can't remember what. But... it has to do with that man... with you."

Itachi was off of her in an instant, sitting in the chair, his eyes dark with either passion or anger... or perhaps both. He stared into her eyes for a long while, his brow furrowed in concentration.

_"Sakura! Run!" _she heard that voice from all of her dreams resurface in her mind and tears welled in her eyes as another vision hit her, this one a young Itachi, a look of horror on his face as he screamed to her. To her. Itachi, during the Uchiha massacre, had screamed for her. But why?

"I-I..." she stammered, shutting her eyes as all of the promises and oaths of undieing love echoed in her head, as wave after wave of images, all of them haphazard and incomprehensible. Most of them were just snapshots of Itachi and sakura together and the last one ended with a distraught Itachi sitting on the ground, an unconscious Sakura in his arms.

_"Sakura!"_

"Sakura," he whispered, "Look at me."

She finally managed to tear her eyes open to look him in the eyes, biting her lower lip to keep her jaw from quivering. He was looking serious as he continued to stare into her eyes.

"What are you doing?" she asked softly, wrapping her arms around herself self-consciously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Does this mean you remember?" he inquired, obviously pretending she hadn't spoken, "Do you really remember, Sakura?"

"I-I don't know," she answered softly, holding her aching head, "There are these pictures in my head, but I don't know what they mean And these voices... but they all seem so surreal, like it's all just some movie in my head. I-I don't know what all of this is."

And then the grim line Itachi's mouth had formed fell into a frown, his eyes going from serious to just plain sad. He stood and headed toward the door.

"I-Itachi... wait..."

He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder at her, silently telling her to go ahead.

"W-What is it that I don't remember?"

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

With a sigh, he turned back to the door, replying, "I wish I could." And, with that, he opened the door and left, closing the door behind himself.

Sakura could only stare at the closed door with disbelief. Had that just happened? Had she just ruined her chance to lose her virginity to what appeared to be a sex-God all because she saw Orochimaru in the back of her mind?

Shaking her head, she leaped out of bed and rushed out of the room, hollering, "Itachi, wait!"

She looked down both ends of the hallway, wondering which way he'd gone. She turned left and decided to try the kitchen first. When he wasn't there, she decided she would wander aimlessly, either getting herself lost and having Itachi rescue her or stumbling upon his room... whichever came first.

Apparently, the plan had been better than she'd thought, because as soon as she turned into a random hallway, she saw him. He stood in the middle of the hallway, his eyes cold, his mouth in a grim line.

He was unreadable...

"Itachi," she called, reaching her hand out to him, "Come on, come with me."

He only stood his ground, not moving a muscle.

With a sigh, she headed toward him, stopping barely a foot in front of him. "Please, Itachi... I can't stand not knowing. Please, if you know anything about what's going on, I'm begging you to tell me."

The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't tell you."

"Please, Itachi—"

He silenced her by closing the distance between them with a kiss, taking her into his arms and holding her tightly. When he broke the kiss, he moved his mouth to her ear to start again, "For nine years, a secret has been kept from you. A secret that could either make or break your life forever and the reason for that is my fault. I can't ruin your life a second time."

_Secret? His fault? A second time?_ Once again, she was confused. _And he says _I'm_ a mystery..._

"I can't tell you what happened because there's too much to tell... but I can show you. Just look at me, Sakura." Slowly, he stood back up to his full height, looking her in the eye. He smiled and whispered, "I love you."

The last thing she saw before she was swept away was Itachi activating Tsukuyomi.

* * *

A/N: Angsty fluff! XD


	12. This Love So Strong

A/N: I am sooooooo sorry I haven't updated in a while! My sister decided not to tell me that she (the person with the name on our Internet account) owed Telus three hundred bloody dollars and so they cut off our Internet. So, I did the smart thing and... went to my dad! XD (Three cheers for the paternal units!) He called Shaw, set up the Internet and, so that I can be sure that the bill gets paid this time, I'm the one paying it! XD (Three cheers for jobs!)

* * *

It was dark, nothingness surrounded her, nothing lay under her feet, yet she managed to stay upright, suspended in thin air. She would have thought that she was in another one of her dreams if not for the knowledge that she was fully awake and inside the depths of Tsukuyomi.

She called out for somebody, anybody, but all she got in reply was her own echo. "Itachi? _Itachi? Itachi? Itachi?_"

Where was he? Where was she? What happened? Should she be afraid?

Even though she knew that she should be terrified, she was calm, relaxed, almost without a care in the world... if Itachi would just show up.

Then, she was on solid ground, the darkness receding into a sunny afternoon, flowers in full bloom surrounding her, sakura trees lining the perimeter and, right in the center sat a red and white checkered picnic blanket and a basket.

"The meadow!"

She felt a weight on her shoulders and looked up to see Itachi standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders to support her. Staring over her head, he had a warm, wistful smile on his face. Then, it grew. "Here they come."

She looked ahead again to see two figures approaching, one short and in front, the other behind, hunched over the first.

"That's..." she stopped her speaking, worried that the two people in front of her would notice them staring at them.

"Don't worry, they can't hear or see us, so speak all you want."

Sakura didn't hear him, she was too busy paying attention to the unknown couple talking. Even from this distance, she could hear the two figures perfectly. "It's a surprise... no peaking."

Then, when they reached the picnic blanket, she heard the hunched over person say, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Sakura held her breath as the speaker stood to his full height so that she could see his face. His long, raven black hair, pulled back; his deep, loving, knowing onyx eyes. The Uchiha emblem on the back of his shirt. Her hand flew to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes, her knees threatening to buckle under the weight of this new truth on her shoulders.

Then, they were swept away, the final words echoing in the nothingness, "I love you, Sakura... _Sakura... Sakura..._"

Instead of moving on to a different scene, images flashed before them, pictures of a happy couple without a care in the world. Sakura sitting in Itachi's lap, their first kiss, their times in the meadow when they would always talk about how much they loved one another.

The threatening tears finally escaped as they moved on to the next scene of Sakura's past: the Uchiha compound. This time, they went onto the actual scene like they'd done with the first.

Dead bodies scattered all along the roads and a little girl tripping over them, screaming for Itachi to save her from this nightmare. Then, a tall, evil-looking figure appeared before her, his long, black hair falling into his face, a sadistic chuckle escaping his lips as Sakura skidded to a halt.

"O... Orochimaru?" she asked, shocked to see that he had played a part in her unknown past.

Itachi squeezed her shoulders in sympathy.

"D-Did you do this?" the mini version of herself asked, "You killed them, didn't you?"

"Sakura!" the younger Itachi shouted, "Sakura! Run! Get out of here before he—!"

"Too late."

New tears welled in Sakura eyes as she watched the black-haired Sannin perform a jutsu, stripping all the memories her younger self had of her Itachi.

"Sakura!" the younger Itachi cried, catching the little girl's body before it hit the ground. Huddled over her body, he gently placed her on the ground with the other bodies, smoothing her hair out of her face while Orochimaru chuckled in satisfaction. Then, the younger Itachi stood to face the traitor and said in unison with the elder Itachi standing before a stunned Sakura, "I'll kill you for this."

Orochimaru laughed even more at the declaration. "You want to kill me? Then join Akatsuki... we'll have our battle someday."

With that, he disappeared, leaving Itachi to say a final goodbye to Sakura's unhearing ears. "Goodbye, taisetsu, I love you."

He gave her a lingering kiss on the lips before rushing out of the room, tears in his eyes.

Then, they were in darkness again, Itachi's hands still on her shoulders, waiting stiffly for a reaction.

"Take me back," she whispered.

And they were back in the base, Itachi staring at her intensely, his Sharingan-clad eyes boring into her own with an intensity she had never known. When the full effects of the jutsu wore off and she was forced to support her own weight, she stumbled backward until she hit a wall and slid down until she was on the floor, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

Itachi knelt before her, a look of worry on his face as he waited for her to speak.

Finally, after a long, tense, painful silence, Sakura whispered, "I never explained all the details of my dreams to anybody..."

Itachi shook his head. "I remember all of it clearly."

"So... it all really happened?"

"Every moment of it."

"Orochimaru's the one that put the jutsu on me?"

"Yes."

"Konoha knew?"

"To a certain extent, yes."

"To a certain extent?"

"They think that I put that jutsu on you."

"What would you do if I thought that?"

"I honestly wouldn't blame you."

"No?"

"No."

"You didn't kill the clan?"

"No."

After one more silence, Sakura drew in a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. Then, she told him, "I have only one more question for you."

"What's that?"

Taking his hands, she held them in her own, marveling at how much larger they were than her own. When he squeezed her hands affectionately, she smiled and whispered her question, "Do you think... that you are still... in love with me?"

There was a long silence as Itachi obviously thought over his answer. Then, with a small sigh of his own, he answered, "More than you'll ever know."

She whimpered as more tears welled in her eyes, then closed the distance between them by leaning forward and burying her face in his chest.

Itachi wrapped his arms around her as she collapsed into his embrace and kissed the top of her head, whispering, "I'm changed, Sakura. I-I can't... I can't smile like I used to. I can't laugh and be as carefree as I was back then. I know that you don't really remember the way I was back then, but I just need you to know... I'm different."

"I understand," she replied, her voice wavering, "Surely I've changed as well? I guess circumstances have left us both in a bad way. But that doesn't mean that we can't fix each other."

He chuckled so softly and then gently blew in her ear, making her shudder. "That used to make you go so crazy. You would smack me for giving you goosebumps."

She playfully punched him in the arm and asked, "Why break an old tradition then?"

His arms tightened around her and she knew that he was amused. Then, he whispered, "Watashi no taisetsu... my Sakura... my love."

Sakura hiccuped softly and wrapped her arms tighter around the man. It felt like she was meeting him for the first time, but she seemed to know everything about him and she cared about him despite his faults. And there _were_ faults. He was just very good at hiding them.

"I always knew you'd come back to me someday," he whispered into her ear, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her bridal-style into his bedroom and closing the door behind them with a kick of his foot. "I always knew."

* * *

A/N: Okay, too corny?


	13. I Want Revenge

A/N: Okay! Ha! I am back to updating regularly! *happy dance*

* * *

It would be a lie to say that Sakura was happy after that. She'd thought that, once she found out what her dreams meant, that would be the end of her restless nights, but alas, it didn't turn out that way.

She tossed and turned at night, thinking of everything she had learned through this mission. All the information, all the truths and lies, all the realizations. They made her so angry! It was not a lie that she was happy that Itachi was the man from her dreams, but that didn't make her anger and hatred toward what had brought her to this point any less valid.

Orochimaru needed to pay, she knew that much. And she needed to do something about Konoha, as well. They (and Naruto isn't included in "they" seeing as how he was against the mission from the beginning) had sent her on this mission, hoping to find out the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre and, despite knowing that the truth could very well have ruined her life, they sent her out for the answers.

Actually, now that she thought about it, the only person she should be angry with was Tsunade, the mastermind behind it all. Her beloved shishou betraying her like this... the thought of such a thing hurt to even comprehend.

Even as she thought of this, she heard the door to her bedroom open and close again, and then the sound of rustling material as Itachi undressed. His warm body appeared behind her, his strong and faithful arms wrapping around her in a loving embrace.

The feeling of his lips at the back of her neck made her anger ebb slightly, but still, the need for revenge remained strong.

He nipped her earlobe tenderly and whispered into her ear in that way she wished she remembered, "You're so tense Sakura, what's going on in that mysterious mind of yours? Not thinking of other men, are you?"

She rolled in his arms so that she could plant a kiss to his throat and asked, "Do you think I'll ever remember our past? It hurts knowing that you're the only one to truly remember it all."

The man in her arms stayed silent a moment before answering, "It's possible that you might get your memories back."

"Only possible?" she asked with disappointment as she ran her fingers over her lover's strong, flat, bare chest, only half-marveling at the intimacy of their position; both of them mostly naked under the covers. Her mind was still partly submerged in her wondering.

"I saw the jutsu Orochimaru used on you with my Sharingan and the effects are supposed to be permanent, but some of your memories are leaking through somehow. Perhaps you will regain your true memories someday."

"Someday," she grumbled unhappily then squeaked in surprise as Itachi ducked under the covers to place a tender kiss to her bare stomach and then pop up again, a wicked smile on his face.

His smile softening, he kissed both her eyes tenderly, forcing her to close them, and said, "I'll be here every step of the way to help you." Then, with a devious smirk, he forced her onto her back and straddled her waist, attacking her neck with his lips.

"You want to help?" she asked breathlessly, tangling her fingers into the man's hair as he ravaged her.

"Of course," he answered into her neck.

"Then, train me. Train me so that you and I can fulfill your promise and kill Orochimaru."

Itachi raised himself, placing his hands on either side of her head on the bed to keep himself up as he chuckled and commented, "I do believe I've created a monster."

With that said, he went back to kissing her neck, softly and tenderly lowering himself on top of her as their bodies joined and entwined.

* * *

The days passed quickly, the two lovers spending the majority of their time in the bedroom or in the tub... or any other place that has some sort of thing the two could have sex on. They were finding it rather hard to keep their hands off of each other, having to pause between meals or any other such unseemly activity to go and have a quick make-out session before continuing with whatever it was they had been doing.

Not all of their time was spent like this, though. Nah, when a messenger bird arrived at the base, Itachi had quickly begun to address whatever matter it was that needed addressing while Sakura took a quick bath.

When she walked into the kitchen wearing her Akatsuki cloak as a robe again and toweling her wet hair, she found him looking grimly at a piece of paper.

She sat at the table, taking the bowl of fruit he slid toward her, never taking his eyes from the paper, and she asked, "What's that?"

"It seems that Kisame will not be joining us," he said with a soft sigh, "Apparently, he's not feeling too keen on your acceptance into Akatsuki."

"He doesn't like me or something?"

"It's nothing personal," he told her, finally taking his eyes away from the letter to look at her, "He's only jealous of your achievements."

_Oh, yeah, achievements... heh heh, about that..._

"Well then," he continued, either not noticing the guilt in her eyes or not caring, "It looks like it will be only us two, seeing as how Kisame's being paired with Zetsu."

Sakura's heart raced with both excitement and anxiousness. On one hand, she was delighted to know that she would have the supposed-to-be-rogue Uchiha all to herself, but, on the other hand, the permanence of it was somewhat daunting. She supposed that it was only because she was so used to thinking of him as an evil bastard out to ruin the entire world, but now she knew better and could stop acting like such a baby.

"Anyway," Itachi said on a sigh, "That just makes things easier for us."

"It does?" she queried with surprise, "How so?"

"Well, do you really want Kisame getting in the way of my training you so that we can kill Orochimaru?"

"No," she answered immediately.

"Well, there you go."

She smiled. "So, you really will train me?"

Itachi's hand went to her chair and pulled it closer to his so that he could kiss the side of her head and ask, "How could I not? You were really far too convincing in bed that night, so I obviously lost the argument."

"Oh... right," she mumbled with a blush, remembering the "debate" they'd had over whether Itachi would let her come with him to kill Orochimaru someday. Apparently, from what he'd just said, she'd won.

Funny, she'd thought _he_ won...

He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, inclining her head to look at him so that he could kiss her. "We'll start tomorrow at dawn. Make sure to be up or I'll be the one waking you up."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" she asked with a playful smirk as his hand moved from her chin to the back of her neck, then down her back until it was riding rather low on her waist.

"Depends."

"On...?"

"On how easy it'll be to make you have a before-breakfast romp with me before training."

A deep blush traveled up her cheeks at what was now obviously a very threatening threat and she couldn't help but smile a goofy smile at him at the amazing images suddenly popping into her mind.

"See you in the morning," he whispered devilishly and then stood, beginning to walk out of the room, "Feel free to use my shower if you need to... er.. cool off."

_He is going to be the death of me!_

But, despite the slight apprehension she had been feeling over the idea of being completely alone with Uchiha Itachi, she felt it drift away into excitement and contentment. She no longer thought of it as being alone with Itachi, but that she and Itachi now had complete privacy to do as they wished in their home.

She had a feeling that she was going to like being an Akatsuki member... until she had to hunt Naruto down, at least.

_Shit, I forgot about that..._

* * *

A/N: How could you possibly forget about Naruto?! I mean, come on, the series is named after him! Seriously, if you forget about him, somebody's going to bring him up... because they always do. Sad, huh?_  
_


	14. The Truth Comes Out

A/N: Ugh, getting tired. It's bordering upon two AM right now, but I don't wanna sleep! I sounded like a whiny kid just then, didn't I? Oh, well, we're all allowed to have our childish moments from time to time! ;P

* * *

"Itachi," Sakura murmured in protest, burying her face in his chest, still half-asleep and intending to keep it that way. "Itachi, stop, I'm trying to sleep."

When the man's hand didn't relinquish its teasing hold on Sakura's breast, she moaned and dug her fingers into his shoulders, trying to keep herself from getting all hot and bothered at six-thirty in the morning.

"Awake yet?" he asked softly, his breath tickling her ear, "Or shall I continue?"

"Mm," she groaned as Itachi's hand slid away from the soft mound of flesh to slowly and teasingly make its way down her stomach until it reached the waistband of the man's boxers she'd donned the night before. "Let me sleep."

"I'm afraid that wasn't one of the options, dear Sakura." The Uchiha was currently straddling the half-asleep woman and was relentlessly teasing her into consciousness... and enjoying it way too much.

With an irritated sigh, she forced her eyes open to look up at the man's devious smirk and scowled tiredly. "I'm up, now will you please take your hand out of my underwear?"

"And if I say no?"

Sakura's scowl darkened and, as quickly as she could manage with her fatigued body, she pushed the hand that was keeping Itachi on top of her and flipped him onto his back before he fell on top of her. She straddled him with a devilish smirk of her own and answered, "This is what will happen."

"And if I happen to enjoy this position?"

With an exasperated rush of air, she flopped onto the bed beside him and proceeded to sulk, folding her arms over her chest and looking everywhere but at her lover.

"Pouting doesn't work on me," he informed her with a wicked chuckle, "Now, up. We have training to do."

She reluctantly got out of the bed, not bothering to change from the overlarge men's T-shirt and boxers she was wearing as she followed Itachi out of the room. She had long since gotten used to the chill of the cold stone around her, now able to walk around barefooted without shuddering or cursing.

When Itachi stilled at the doorway to the kitchen, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Shit," Itachi grumbled, making Sakura's brow furrow in confusion.

She was about to move to his side to inspect what was in the kitchen when she heard that chillingly familiar voice that sent every cell in her body to ice, "Ah, there you are, Uchiha, do come in if you wouldn't mind. You, too, Haruno-san."

_Oh, dear lord... Pein's here. _

Once everybody had sat around the table, Sakura and Itachi feeling very exposed (Sakura was still in the same clothes while Itachi was in nothing but boxers), Pein began to speak. "I see you two have been taking advantage of the privacy you've been given. Truly sorry to ruin that for you, friends."

Sakura blushed and stared at her hands folded neatly on the table, trying to hide her embarrassment. This obviously meant that Pein now knew of their relationship.

"Oh, Haruno-san, do allow me to introduce to you my partner," the orange-haired male said, catching her attention, "This is Konan. Konan, this is Haruno Sakura, _formerly_ of the Leaf." The way he said the word 'formerly' made her flinch as though he had just struck her.

Sakura looked up to inspect the woman, who seemed to be doing the same, anyway. She had blue hair with a paper flower sticking from it, her face had a couple piercings, but nothing as extreme as Pein's. Her skin was pale and she was vaguely pretty, but didn't have a whole lot of personality to her look.

"Though, of course, we don't use the term 'partner' the way you two seem to be taking it," the Akatsuki leader commented with an amused smirk, "But, no matter. What my fellow Akatsuki does during their free time is their business and their business alone. Just don't allow this—whatever this is—to interfere with your work... or else this _will_be my business." Sakura could have sworn she saw a glint of violent intention pass through the man's eyes making her wonder if his amiable personality wasn't just a front.

_Is he... suspicious of me?_

"Forgive my curiosity, Leader-sama," Itachi said, pulling Sakura out of her worried thoughts as he leaned his head on a fist, his elbow propped up on the table, "But what is this little visit about? You've never been known to just show up out of the blue."

Pein chuckled and produced a scroll from under the table, dropping it in front of the Uchiha, saying, "Read this and you'll know."

Itachi reluctantly picked the scroll up, broke the seal, unrolled it and began to read it silently. His eyes widening and then narrowing, he read aloud, "'It is with great displeasure and disappointment that I inform you, Leader-sama, that the spy I sent to keep an eye on Orochimaru's whereabouts for the Akatsuki, Yakushi Kabuto, has been deliberately delivering either misleading or completely false information.

"As it stands, I have shinobi scouring the nation for these traitors and, as soon as they are found, they will be dispatched as seen fit. Unfortunately, these shinobi are spies and their presence as such may be jeopardized through doing this, so I now ask your permission to use Akatsuki members to track down and sentence these shinobi, thus protecting our precious secrets.

"I await your reply, Leader-sama, Akasuna no Sasori.'"

Itachi softly placed the scroll on the table, his face ashen, his eyes wide. This obviously wasn't what he was expecting.

Pein smirked in satisfaction at the Uchiha's reaction and said, "I figured that, since you both are from Konoha, you would like to take on this honor. Of course, if you succeed, you will find yourselves greatly rewarded for your troubles."

Sakura smiled happily and looked to Itachi, who was supposed to be her superior in times like these, to accept the mission.

"What do you say?" the orange-haired male inquired, his eyes looking pleased, his smile rivaling that of a Cheshire cat.

Itachi stared down at the letter, then looked back up to Pein, then to Sakura and, finally, to the letter again. With a sigh, he nodded. "I'll take it."

_I'll...?_

Pein's smirk grew more devious, if that was possible, and he nodded, as well. "Good. Great. Then, you leave as soon as you're both ready. Konan, let us leave these two to their... obligations."

And, with that, the pair walked out of the kitchen, disappearing from the sight of Sakura and Itachi.

Sakura turned to Itachi with worry, placing a hand on his shoulder, and asking, "Is something the matter? I thought this was a good thing... isn't it a good thing?"

Itachi shrugged her hand from him as though she'd burnt him and stood, leaving the room without a word, the scroll forgotten on the table.

She took it from the table and read it over, her heart skipping a beat at its true contents. It did have all the things Itachi had said, but above it... well...

_Itachi, read what you see below this message aloud, but be advised that this is the true message. Haruno Sakura is a spy for Konoha. One of our own spies in Konoha overheard the Kyuubi container and the Hokage speaking about the mission they had sent her on, involving reconnaissance inside Akatsuki. _

_Deal with her. Quickly._

_Pein_

Sakura was at a loss for words. She'd been found out? Itachi had to kill her now? What was she going to do? What was _he_ going to do?

Standing, she rushed out of the kitchen, shouting for Itachi to tell her where he was. "Itachi! Come out here and talk to me! Come on, Itachi, don't be like this!"

"Don't be like what, Sakura?" Itachi's cold voice asked, his voice echoing through the hallways. Sakura used those echoes to try and track him down.

"Like this," she answered, "Please, let's talk about this."

"No, Sakura."

"Why not?" she asked, "What's keeping you from talking to me?"

"The fact that you lied to me all this time."

Sakura rounded a corner to see the man standing in the middle of the hallway, not unlike how he had when he'd confessed his love for her all those days ago. The only difference was that he was in his full Akatsuki wardrobe... and he held a kunai in his hand.

"Itachi," she whispered, slowly approaching the obviously angry man, "Let's talk about this... let me explain what happened to bring me here. Please."

Itachi stayed silent, his face cold and emotionless, much like he had always seemed like before she got to know the true Uchiha Itachi. Finally, after a long silence, he gave his one-word answer: "No." And then, he lunged for her, kunai in hand, Sharingan activated.

* * *

A/N: Rushed? Too tired to change it. Night-night! XD


	15. Freedom Awaits

A/N: Sorry for the cliffy, mina-san! As an apology present, here's the next chap a day early! XD

* * *

Sakura didn't have time to flinch before Itachi was in front of her, kunai raised to slice open her throat. She could only look into the man's cold eyes and wait for a killing blow... that never came.

His brow furrowed, his mouth tightening, the arm holding the kunai shook under an imaginary weight and the rest of him remained as still as stone, poised to attack. Then, the hand holding the weapon opened and the kunai fell to the floor with a clatter that echoed throughout the corridor. He took her by the arms and brought her face so close to his that she could feel his ragged breaths hit her face.

It made her want to kiss him.

"Why?" he hissed in her face, "Why should I listen to what _you _have to say? You're a Leaf shinobi, you always have been and you always will be."

"Is that such a bad thing?" she asked, "To be loyal to somebody that will be loyal toward you in return?" Actually, Konoha hadn't been loyal to her, but she needed to make a point. "Besides, you're a Leaf shinobi, too."

"No I'm not," he corrected, his hold on her tightening until it was almost painful.

"You were loyal to Konoha until Orochimaru killed your family," she reminded him, her words rushed into almost one word, her voice shaking, "You never asked to betray them, you had no choice."

"_You_ had a choice."

"If I had known their motives, I never would have gone... well, actually, I would have. Because, now, I have you and that's all that matters."

His face contorting into a scowl, he released her and took a step back, folding his arms over his chest. "Talk," he spat.

She took a step toward him, but he matched her a step back, his features darkening. "Talk," he repeated coldly, "My patience has limits."

Sakura sighed and began. "I started having dreams... about you and me, but I didn't know it was you yet. Everybody was getting really worried about how these dreams were taking their toll on me. I couldn't eat or sleep, I was drifting off into space while I was awake, I was in a really bad way. So, I decided to talk to Tsunade-shishou about it. She prescribed me some sleeping pills that didn't work and then, not long after, she assigned Naruto and I this mission."

Itachi remained silent, his features still cold, but his eyes softening ever-so-slightly. Was their hope still? Oh, God, she hoped there was still hope.

"Tsunade-shishou told me that I was to pretend to kidnap Naruto and that she would alert all the Great Nations of what I 'did', and tell them that I was headed to Ame. She told me that, if I failed, I was never to return to Konoha. When I got to Ame, Naruto left and, three weeks later, that guy came by.

"What I hadn't realized until it was too late, though, was that Tsunade-shishou never gave me any means to contact the village and send them anything I might have found."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly and she nodded. "I know... it's weird and a huge mistake on my part. What I managed to come up with was that she had sent me on this mission to find out the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre and, since she knew that you were the man in my dreams, seeing you might make my memories return. She sent me out here knowing full-well that it would probably ruin my life."

Itachi's face softened as she brought her explanation to a conclusion, his eyes inactivating the Sharingan so that they returned to their onyx color. "Sakura... I..."

"I never once passed on any Akatsuki information to anybody," she carried on, "For one thing, Konoha doesn't even know where the base is; two, I have no way of passing information off while I'm stuck in here and..." she paused as her voice broke, then continued, "And third, I can't betray you like that."

Itachi dropped his head and massaged the bridge of his nose, obviously wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. Either he could obey his orders, kill Sakura and live the rest of his life in misery, or he could disobey orders, let Pein kill her and him, and... well, be dead.

Sakura doubted he'd ever been forced to make such a hard decision.

"This is as hard a decision as leaving you all those years ago," he mumbled regretfully.

Okay, so it was tied for the hardest decision he had ever made.

Then, Itachi smirked that smirk that Sakura was beginning to know all too well. It would seem that the man had found a loophole. "Come on, Sakura," he said, taking her hand and rushing down the hallway. "Quick, we haven't got much time."

"What? But—wait! Where are we going? What are we doing? Itachi, slow down!"

"Can't slow down, have to hurry."

"Hurry for what?"

"I'll explain on the way."

* * *

"Okay," Sakura said, walking out of the Akatsuki base for the first time since arriving. "So let me get this straight, we're going to run to meet up with Pein and Konan, make it look like we're fighting, fake our own deaths, then run off to some small village?"

"Exactly."

"... Will it work?"

"Hope so."

"And... why are we doing this?"

"Because," he answered, "I hated myself for years over letting you go when I should have stayed, I'm not going to make that mistake a second time. You and I are going to stick together."

Sakura smiled and nodded. "I like that idea."

Itachi smirked. "Good, otherwise I would have had to make it look like I'd already killed you and fake my own death and... well... it's just not so dmatic as losing two good Akatsuki members at once."

"You're forgetting I'm not a true Akatsuki member."

"And, from what you told me earlier, neither am I."

Sakura giggled and let Itachi take her hand as they made their way through the forest, trying to make good time so that they could catch up to the Akatsuki leader and his partner. It would seem they had a lot of running ahead of them.

* * *

And they did have a lot of running. They'd been going nonstop for what was soon to be three hours and they could barely even sense the pair's chakra signatures. But they couldn't take a break. Not yet. They needed to catch up with Pein and Konan as soon as possible. The sooner the better.

"Don't worry, Sakura," Itachi said softly, "We'll be free to do whatever we want soon enough. In a few hours, you and I will be on our way to the beginning of the rest of our lives.

* * *

A/N: Ugh, I hate that last line! XP


	16. All Jokes Aside

A/N: Updating sooner again XD

* * *

Sakura was on the verge of collapsing, but she continued to run, holding firm to Itachi's hand as he slowed to keep pace with her. Her breathing was labored, her chest burning with each intake of air, her legs felt like limp spaghetti noodles, her arms were no better. Her hair was plastered to her face thanks to the sweat and her throat was so dry it felt like she had swallowed a cup full of sand.

"Maybe we should take a break," Itachi suggested softly, relinquishing his hold on her hand to wrap it around her waist, "There's a clean river not far from here, we can freshen up there and I could catch a couple fish."

"Have to... find... Pein and... Konan," Sakura gasped breathlessly, stumbling through the grass, her feet feeling as heavy as lead weights. Itachi had insisted they travel on the ground when she had begun showing signs of exhaustion, not wanting her to fall out of one of the trees and actually kill herself.

"We can afford to take a small break," he assured her, "Now come on, the river's just over here."

Sakura let him take her in his arms and carry her to the river where he set her down on the damp grass to lay down as he fetched some water.

"Here, drink," he commanded, placing a full flask of cold water to her parched lips.

She parted her lips and swallowed the cool water, reveling in the feeling of the coldness running down her dry throat. When it was gone, she was sad.

"Do you need more?"

"You... drink," she mumbled, suddenly finding it hard to keep her eyes open, "You're... thirsty... too."

"Nowhere near as bad as you."

"Just as... bad."

Itachi sighed and moved away from her. He filled the flask up again, chugged it down, filled it up again and took it to her. "There, I drank some, now have some more before you dehydrate yourself even more."

"Sleep," she murmured, "Sleep first... drink later." Itachi sighed again and said something else, but she was suddenly drifting away on an invisible current, unable to hear what he was saying. She smiled as the darkness overcame her. "Night-night, Itachi."

His parched lips touched her own in a soft kiss and then she was fully asleep, dreaming happily of a new life with Itachi.

* * *

When she awoke again, she was fully rejuvenated, but thirsty.... and hungry.

She looked around the dark riverbank, trying to make her eyes focus to the dim light of the moon so that she could see. When she could make out her surroundings, she found an empty flask that she supposed was left for her to use when she'd woken, a long leaf with a cooked fish on it, and a dozing Itachi.

She smiled and pushed some strays strands of his hair from his face and tucked them behind his ear, enjoying his peaceful features. She remembered that first night they'd been partners, they'd been traveling to the base and Itachi was suspicious of her, wary of sleeping while she stayed awake. He had looked so scary, his Sharingan-clad eyes glowing in the faint moonlight, making him look like a demon. Then, once he had closed his eyes, she noticed just how beautiful the man was.

Perhaps it was when he'd said her name while dreaming that she had fallen for him? Wait... fallen for him? She was talking as though she was in love with the man. Sure, they had sex... a lot... and they did act couple-ish, but she refused to think of the word love to explain their relationship. It was too early for that... well, for her, anyway.

It was amazing that the man had waited nine years for her. He could have easily gotten over her and moved on to some other girl that he had a better chance with... and yet, he waited. He waited and waited and waited... and now they were finally together.

Her smile widened as she stood, refilled the flask, drank, repeated the process a few more times, and then moved onto the fish. She ate hungrily, finishing it in a matter of just a few bites.

She then curled up in the damp grass beside Itachi, taking his hand in her own, deciding to rest until he woke again.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she was asleep again.

* * *

"Sakura," his soft, honey-like voice disturbed her dreamless slumber, his fingers gently caressing her face made her smile in her sleep. She leaned her face into the caress and she moaned sleepily as his lips pressed gently against her own, "Sakura, we need to wake up."

"We?" she grumbled, "Are you not awake yet, Itachi?"

"Oh, I am," he answered huskily, "But I would really appreciate it if you would get off of me. You see, you're sort of causing some unintentional images to come to mind over what I could be doing to you right now."

Her eyes flying open, she looked around to find that she was in the grass, the way she had been when she'd fallen asleep, Itachi crouching beside her, an evil smirk on his face. "I thought you said I was on top of you?"

"Got you to wake up, didn't it?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and stood so that she could stretch her still-sleeping muscles. "So, what are we doing today? Besides faking our own deaths, I mean."

"Well, I've decided that you and I are going to move to a civilian village, a place with no shinobi," he told her, "You and I can just be normal people, living normal lives. If, and when, Akatsuki realizes that we aren't dead, they'll never suspect us to not be shinobi in some village."

"And what village do you have in mind?"

"Land of Waves?"

"Ooh, we could be fishermen!"

Itachi chuckled. "At least it'd be laborious work so that we don't get restless from lack of missions."

Sakura nodded. "I love that idea! So, what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

Getting to his feet, the Uchiha nodded. "It seems that Pein and Konan didn't travel during the night. I can still feel their chakra signatures, so if we make good time, we can be dead by nightfall."

"Let's go!" Sakura repeated excitedly and let Itachi take the lead, heading toward their supposed doom. "So, will we be able to fit into Land of Waves?" she inquired when they leaped into the trees to begin the next leg of their journey, "I mean, won't they know we were once shinobi?"

"Not if we make a pit stop in an outpost town and change up our appearances," Itachi answered, "I can get some contact lenses, dye my hair blond, maybe... or maybe just get it cut. You could dye your hair, get a piercing or two... we could get some new clothes. What do you think of grunge chic?"

"Not much."

"Hm, we'll have to change that. I'll make a punk princess out of you."

"I don't want to be a punk princess!"

"Too bad!" And, with that, Itachi sped up to keep Sakura from jumping on him and laughed when she just missed him with a kunai. "Trying to kill me, Princess?"

"Stop... calling... me... PRINCESS!!!"

"Sorry, Princess!"

"Itachi!"

"Shh, you'll wake up the dragon, princess."

"Yo_u're_ a dragon!"

"Is that the best come-back you can come up with?"

"Unfortunately, yeah."

Itachi laughed again. "We'll work on that, too, then."

* * *

A/N: I don't much like that last part. But it kind of goes on into the sequel, so I'm keeping it.


	17. Time of Dying

A/N: Second-last chapter! XD

* * *

Finally, they made it to a point in the forest where they were forced to stop and come up with a plan of action. Pein and Konan were only a couple of kilometers away and Itachi and Sakura had long since suppressed their chakra signatures so that they could travel undetected.

But, now it was time to decide just how to fake their deaths.

"We're very close to Deidara and Sasori's base," Itachi informed her, "And they prefer not to do diversions, they stick with good ol' fashioned traps."

"Okay...?"

"So, I know where all those traps are, seeing as how I helped Deidara set them all."

"So, we're going to deliberately set off one of the traps?"

Itachi nodded. "That's the plan."

"And how are we going to make it so that they have proof that we're dead?"

That's when Itachi smirked and said mysteriously, "I have my ways."

"And your ways would be...?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out... later... I can't have you getting in the way when I plant the evidence. If I get caught, I could say that you're dead while you get away, then I could at least be happy in knowing that you were safe. Of course, I would find my way to you eventually, but I would much rather stick with you in the last leg of our little journey."

She smiled. "I've always loved surprises."

Chuckling, the rogue Uchiha stood from where he'd been sitting and offered her his hand. "We'd best be moving then. It'd be nice to get all the harder stuff over with sooner rather than later. So, when we catch up to Pein and Konan, you keep running ahead, I'll stop and talk to them, tell them what's supposedly going on and that I'm purposely chasing you toward the traps."

"Alright," Sakura agreed, taking the offered hand and taking off ahead of her lover. She pumped her arms as hard as she could, trying to make herself go as fast as she could possibly make them move.

She was so excited! A whole new life with her Itachi. Maybe pop out a couple kids, get a dog... she was sure that she could pull off a civilian lifestyle. And, even if it would be challenging, a peaceful life with the man she loved was most assuredly worth it.

_That's right, I used the word love!_ After all of this, there was no doubt left in Sakura's mind over what her feelings toward Uchiha Itachi were; love, love, love, love, love!

"They're right up ahead," Itachi hissed and she nodded.

"Alright. Meet you ahead, then." And, with that, she managed to speed up even more, racing passed Pein and Konan so fast that they were nothing but a blur to her. Her smile widened when she heard Itachi's voice.

"It's okay, I'm handling it."

Yes, he was.

* * *

"What do you mean you're handling it?" Pein hissed impatiently, his eyes dark with fury, "You're standing here, talking to me while she's getting away."

"I've got a plan," Itachi explained, "I'm leading her straight toward Deidara's traps. If that doesn't kill her, it'll certainly slow her down so that I can finish the job."

"You had better finish the job," the orange-haired Akatsuki leader warned angrily, "Because, if you don't, Haruno won't be the only one to die today. I will not tolerate failure from you, Uchiha, not again. You are way too far in my bad books to let this go lightly."

"I understand, Sir," Itachi nodded, "Now, if you wouldn't mind, can I go catch her before she gets away?"

"Go," Pein waved him off, snarling.

Itachi nodded and took off again.

Now he had to catch up with Sakura before she ran into one of the traps. It really wouldn't help things if she actually died. Despite the coldness he'd held toward Leaf shinobi over the past nine years, he loved Sakura and he would do anything to make sure that she didn't slip through his fingers a second time.

He could see her retreating form and he wished that he could call to her to slow down, but he couldn't take the risk that Pein and Konan might have been spying at that moment. He would just have to go faster and get to her before she got in the vicinity of the traps... which was nearing very quickly.

As a matter of fact, it was just ahead...

Moving quicker, he found himself gaining on the kunoichi, catching up to her just in time to grab her and stop her from walking into a virtual No-Man's-Land ."Sakura," he whispered, grabbing her around the waist and hopping down from the tree they were in before she even had a chance to react. "We need to move quickly. We haven't much time."

"I-Itachi..." Sakura whispered, her eyes wide, her face pale. "Just in case this doesn't work and one or both of us die, I love you."

Itachi froze, not quite certain of how he should react to such a declaration. "I love you, too, Sakura, but we're only fake-dieing, remember?"

She smiled and nodded. "Alright then, so you'd better live through this, because you and I are going to have to make some new memories to replace the ones I lost."

He smiled in return and nodded. "It'd be my honor."

"Quick," she urged him, looking around fearfully, "They could be here any minute and you and I have to be long gone."

Itachi nodded and shrugged his bag from his shoulders, opening it to pull out several objects. The first was a bow and arrow, the next a katana. Then, he took out several jars filled with some sort of liquid and various human body parts submerged in the afore-mentioned liquid.

"Ew," Sakura hissed, "You kept that with us the entire time?"

Itachi smirked. "Surprise."

He unscrewed the lids of the jars, pulled out a book of matches, and then took out the various body parts, lighting them on fire and tossing them in several different directions. He then proceeded to scatter the bow, arrow and katana, making sure that they were on fire, as well.

He put the jars back into the bag (making sure to put the lids back on first, naturally) and took Sakura's hand, leading her away from the scene.

When they were only a few feet from the scene of the crime, he stopped and smirked at his lover, whispering, "Here's the fun part."

She looked at him quizzically until he shouted, "Sakura! Wait, don't go over there!" Then, he whispered for her to scream, which was exactly what she did.

With that, he scooped the still-screaming girl into his arms and ran off, throwing a kunai over his shoulder.

Things were moving in slow motion. Sakura would have thought that Itachi was walking if it weren't for the wind slapping at her face. She had stopped screaming and turned to watch the show over Itachi's shoulder.

The kunai sailed through the air until it sliced an invisible wire, detonating an exploding tag, sending the entire area into fire and an ear-splitting kah-boom.

Sakura giggled with exhilaration while Itachi ran just a little bit faster than the fire was spreading (which was pretty fast). She could feel the heat, could feel her love's protective arms holding her, but, most of all, she felt the adrenalin soaring through her veins, making everything she saw look so surreal.

"Hold on!" Itachi shouted over the roaring echo from the explosion, his voice just barely audible over the eardrum-shattering rumbling as he leaped into the air, landing on a tree branch, and continuing his sprint through the forest that was quickly dissolving into flame.

Sakura continued to giggle long after they had left the area, enjoying the feeling of her ears humming, trying to heal the slight deafness that had just been inflicted upon them.

Itachi was smiling as well, his cheeks and hair coated in gray from the ash and smoke. He continued to carry her even when she was able to walk on her own.

They were finally together. They could now live a peaceful life together. The thought thrilled Sakura in ways she had never imagined. She didn't even care if she never got her memories back anymore, as long as Itachi was by her side to help her make new ones.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I know I said sixteen chapters, but what can I say? I had to make it better! XD Anyway, there'll be just one more chapter, but it'll be more of an epilogue than anything else. n.n


	18. Epilogue

A/N: Okay, I know the last chapter was supposed to be two chapters ago, but this is really the last one! I promise. ... But then there's the sequel, too! XD

* * *

As Pein watched the explosion moments after hearing Itachi shout for the Konoha kunoichi to stop, he felt both satisfied and pissed off. On one hand, the girl died with the knowledge she'd obtained about the Akatsuki, but, on the other hand, he had just lost a very valuable tool.

He sighed, trying to quell his temper, and reminded himself that sacrifices had to be made in order for the Akatsuki to thrive and get what it was that they strive for. But he had told himself this every time one of his charges had died and the words were beginning to get annoying and not very persuasive.

The Akatsuki was dying one by one and he knew it.

"Come on, Konan," he sighed, walking forward to see if there was any proof that the two had either died or survived.

Despite the fact that the forest still echoed with the rumblings of the explosion and the crackling of the remaining fire was quite loud, he could still hear the sound of the dead leaves crunching under his feet and his frustrated breathing. He could hear Konan muttering curses under her breath about the fire and he could still hear an echo of Itachi's words in his head.

_"Sakura! Wait, don't go over there!"_

He scoffed, wondering if Itachi's death hadn't been such a loss after all. If he was weak enough to actually allow himself to fall in love with a Konoha kunoichi, then he certainly wasn't fit to help the Akatsuki's endeavors. He sighed again. What a mistake he'd made. Allowing two members into the organization that still held emotional ties to their home village. How had he gotten so bad at judging character?

"Pein," Konan called and he turned to see that he'd walked ahead while she had stopped in front of a burning pile of something or other.

He turned back and crouched before the burning pile, taking out his canteen and dousing the flames. As the smoke plumed up from the extinguished fire, it brought with it the sweet smell of sulfur, the light scent of burned grass and the putrid aroma of burned flesh. He wrinkled his nose with disgust and waited for the smoke to disappear so that he could look upon what it was he'd revealed.

When the smoke passed, he saw the charred remains of a hand beside a scorched handle of a katana, the blade glowing red with heat. But, despite the fact that the katana was now unusable, he still saw the metal insignia on the hilt. The Akatsuki cloud.

He looked up at Konan and queried, "How do you figure Itachi's hand got cut off in an explosion? And where is his body? Don't you think that it would have stayed somewhere close?"

Konan only shrugged and Pein smirked, but there was no amusement in the expression.

"Looks like we got ourselves a couple of runaways," he said, standing and kicking the katana so that it landed in a patch of untouched grass. He watched as the heat from the blade burned the dried grass and set it aflame.

Konan queried, "Shall I alert the other members of this matter?"

Pein nodded. "Yes. We hunt for them as soon as we can all assemble."

This was not the end, he decided with a chuckle of anticipation. It was only the beginning.

* * *

A/N: Sequel, anyone? I'm not sureh ow long it'll take me to start posting, but I know that it won't be right away. There are some things about the few chapters I have that I want to fix. So far, it doesn't seem very good and I want only the best for my reviewers n.n But don't forget, you get what you pay for! Kidding, kidding, my lovelies.

Anyway, thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews and I hope to see some of you in future stories! Love you all!

Italova... OUT!


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